York Bay, Wellington, Feb., 1923, E. H. Atkinson. Type collection.

The species is characterized by the strongly spinous exoperidium, minutely cellular sterile base, hyaline, septate capillitium, and finely verrucose spores. It is peculiar in that it possesses certain characters of several species, for it has the exoperidium of L. echinatum Pens., a sterile base resembling that of L. Hoylei Berk., spores of L. perlatum Pers., and capillitium of L. depnessum Bon. The exoperidium is clothed with long (3-4 mm.) dark brown, almost black spines, which are free at their bases, but frequently connivent at their apices; at the base each is surrounded with a ring of numerous coloured granules. When the spines fall away, the endoperidium appears reticulate, owing to the presence of these rings of granules, which persist and form a net-like series of fine lines. The habit of growing upon wood is also a feature of the plant, being peculiar to only one other New Zealand species, L. piriforme.