VICTORIA. Apollo Bay, Great Ocean road, Maits Rest, hypogeal at base of Eucalyptus regnans, 22 Oct. 1981, K. & G. Beaton 27; 17 July 1982, G. Weste, K. & G. Beaton 31.

Gasterocarp 0.5-2.5 cm diam., subglobose, ellipsoid or irregularly turbinate, depressed around the basal attachment, very occasionally with an exposed gleba. Peridium white when fresh, drying greyish orange, farinose to sub-tomentose, smooth finally wrinkled. Gleba white, cream coloured or pale ochraceous, labyrinthoid, of minute, elongated or irregular, empty chambers, 2-4 per mm, with some radial and concentric arrangement. Tramal plates very thin, 75-100 µm thick, consisting of a narrow hymenophoral trama, lacking sphaerocytes, and moderately well developed subhymenial layers. Columella absent or sometimes poorly developed; sterile base minute. Latex and laticiferous elements absent. Spore deposit pale cream coloured. Spores 7-10 x 7-9(9 ± 0^.4 x 8-5 ± 0-3) µm (excl. orn.), Q= 1.05; orthotropic, globose or nearly so, hyaline, thin-walled, with an ornamentation of hollow, tapering spines, with rounded apices, often coalescing at their bases but without connectives, strongly amyloid; hilar appendix short, 1-1.5 x 0.5-1 µm, cylindric or obconical, with a terminal hilar tear. Basidia 25-37 x 9-11 µm, ventricose-clavate, bearing 2 or 4 slender sterigmata. Leptocystidia present, voluminous, 50-80 x 17-35 µm, ovoid-pedicellate to short lageniform with a broadly rounded apex, and few contents. Hymenophoral trama narrow, more or less regular, of parallel, filamentous hyphae, 2.5-6.5 µm diam. Subhymenial layer 11-16 µm broad, pseudoparenchymatous. Peridiopellis a stratified epithelium, up to 200 µm thick, of agglutinated sphaerocytes, 15-40 µm diam. (Fig. 4 D-G, Pl. 25 K-Q).

A small hypogeal species, growing in scattered groups, which was originally described from New Zealand. The amyloid, orthotropic spores place this species in Elasmomycetaceae, whilst the absence of sphaerocytes in the hymenophoral trama, together with the spinose spore ornamentation, and the voluminous leptocystidia indicate Martellia to be the most appropriate genus.

NEW ZEALAND. Auckland, Te Aroha, May 1940, Cunningham 10141 (holotype K).

VICTORIA. Powelltown, Learmonth and Kobiolke road junction, hypogeal in mixed eucalyptus forest, 16 July 1974, G. Crichton & G. Beaton, Marysville, Steavenson Falls, hypogeal in roadside bank, 9 July 1975, K. & G. Beaton, Cumberland Res., 7 May 1982, K. & G. Beaton 8 (holotype K); Otway Range, Grey Riv. Res., hypogeal in wet eucalyptus forest, 18 July 1982, K. & G. Beaton, Lavers Hill, Kennedy's Creek road, 24July 1982, K. & G. Beaton-, 3 km from Eildon on Jamieson road, hypogeal under regrowth scrub, 17 Aug. 1982, A. C. Beauglehole, K. & G. Beaton, Apollo Bay end of Turtons Track, 21 Sept. 1982, K. & G. Beaton.

Gasterocarp 1-2 cm diam., subglobose or lobed, usually basally depressed around the point of attachment. Peridium carrot red (M.5YR/6.6/10.3) when fresh, drying to sienna brown (M.2.5YR/4.3/8.5), translucent, smooth and glabrous. Gleba pale orange (M.4.5YR/8.6/3.2), loculate, of very irregular, empty chambers, 0.5-2 mm diam., without any radial or concentric arrangement. Tramal plates up to 450 µm, thick, with a broad hymenophoral trama and well developed subhymenial layers. Columella and sterile base absent. Laticiferous elements present both in the peridiopellis and the tramal plates, producing a slight exudation from cut fresh specimens. Spores 8.5-10.5 x 8-10(10 ± 0.5 x 9.5 ± 0.5) µm (excl. orn.), Q,= 1-05; orthotropic, globose or nearly so, hyaline, thin-walled, with a coarse ornamentation of deep ridges, 1-2.5 µm high, forming a complete reticulum with a large mesh, amyloid and deeply staining; hilar appendix prominent, 1-2.5 µm long, with an apical tear. Basidia 35-55 x 7-10 µm, cylindrico-clavate, bearing 4, occasionally 2 sterigmata. Cystidia absent. Hymenophoral trama subregular, hyaline, with filamentous hyphae, 2-7 µm diam., and a few scattered laticiferous elements, 5-9 µm diam. Subhymenial layer well developed, 15-25 µm broad, pseudoparenchymatous. Peridiopellis a stratified epithelium, 100-200 µm thick, of agglutinated sphaerocytes, 10-20 µm diam.

Gasterocarpus 1-2 cm latus, subglobosus vel lobatus, ad basim depressus, sessilis. Peridium daucinum, translucidum, laeve, glabrum, Gleba pallide aurantiaca, in sicco brunnea, loculis irregulariter dispositis. Columella nulla. Sporae 8.5-10.5 x 8-10(10 ± 0.5 x 9.5 ± 0.5) µm, orthotropicae, globosae, hyalinae, tenuitunicatae, grosse reticulatae, amyloideae. Basidia 35-55 x 7-10 µm, cylindrico-clavata, 2- vel 4-sporigera. Cystidia nulla. Trama hymenophoralis subregularis, hyalina, elementis laticiferis instructa, sphaerocytis carens; subhymenium pseudoparenchymaticum. Peridiopellis sphaerocytis efformata.

This hypogeal species, which grows in small clusters, is easily recognized macroscopically by the bright carrot red colouration of the peridium, and microscopically by the reticulate ornament on the spores comprising deep ridges and a wide mesh. zelleromyces cinnabarinus Singer & Smith, from Louisiana, U.S.A., is similarly coloured but differs in having much larger spores with a smaller mesh to the reticulate ornamentation, and in the presence of cystidia.

Typus: Victoria, K. & G. Beaton 8 (holotype K).

Gasterocarp 1.5-2.5 cm diam., irregularly globose or more usually ellipsoid with a depressed base around the point of attachment. Peridium greyish orange (M.4.5YR/7.5/5.5) when fresh, drying dull reddish brown, glabrous and smooth drying rugose. Gleba pale orange, drying ochraceous, labyrinthoid, of empty, ellipsoid or irregular chambers, variable, 2-4 per mm. Tramal plates 55-75 µm thick, with a broad hymenophoral trama and well developed sub-hymenial layers. Columella absent; sterile base present or absent. Laticiforous elements present, forming an extensive system both in the hymenophoral trama and in the lower layers of the peridiopellis, exuding latex when cut. Spores 7.5-10 x 7-8.5(9 ± 0-5 x 7.7 ± 0.5) µm, Q. = 1-16; subheterotropic, globose to broadly ovoid, hyaline or faintly tinted, thin-walled, with an ornamentation of continuous or interrupted ridges, 0.7-1.5 µm high, running parallel with each other to form a pattern of concentric striae, at times branching and anastomosing especially on the adaxial surface, strongly amyloid; suprahilar plage not differentiated; hilar appendix 1.5-1.8 x 0.7-1.5 µm, obconical. Basidia 35-45 x 7-10 µm, cylindrico-clavate, bearing 2 or 4 sterigmata. Cystidia absent. Hymenophoral trama regular, hyaline, of more or less parallel, thin-walled hyphae, 2-10 µm diam., plus an extensive system of branching laticiferous elements, 2-5-8 µm diam., with refractive contents. Subhymenial layer well developed, 19-30 µm broad, pseudoparenchymatous. Peridiopellis an epicutis, 60-90 µm thick, of densely woven, agglutinated hyphae, with a brown encrusting pigment, together with numerous laticiferous elements in the lower layers.

VICTORIA. Eildon-Jamieson end of Warburton road, hypogeal in mixed eucalyptus forest, 21 April 1974, G. Beaton, Mallet Creek track near Eildon, 25 May 1974, G. Beaton, Jerusalem Creek near Eildon, 30 Aug. 1974, K. & G. Beaton, Otway Range, Grey Riv. Res., IS July 1982, K. & G. Beaton, Rubicon, Royston road, 16 May 1982, K. & G. Beaton 16; Kinglake Nat. Park, Bald Spur road, hypogeal under Eucalyptus radiata, 29 Aug. 1982, A. C. Beauglehole, Heath road, Mt Deception road junction, Lower Gleneig Nat. Park near Portland, hypogeal under E. obliqua, 12 Sept. 1982, Beauglehole.

The species was originally described from South Australia, and at the same time recorded from New South Wales (Cunningham 1935: 1 19; 1944: 61), and it is now known to be quite common in Victoria where it grows in small hypogeal clusters. The gasterocarp lacks a columella yet may sometimes develop a small, substipitate base, and very occasionally the gleba may become partially exposed around the base. The spores are not truly symmetric and statismosporic in structure but show some differentiation between an abaxial surface with an ornamentation of parallel ridges, and a smaller adaxial surface with a more irregular pattern of ornamentation. The hilar appendix is also in a slightly excentric position. This raises the possibility of the species being assigned to Russulaceae, rather than to Elasmomycetaceae, but owing to the absence of (a) a percurrent columella, (b) a differentiated suprahilar plage on the spore, and (c) sphaerocytes, the genus Zelleromyces is more appropriate, and the combination is proposed.