australia: south Australia, Lake Bonney, (holotype).

new zealand: north [.: auckland—Clevedon, E.E. Chamberlain, 3. iv. 1966, PDD 25153; Waitakere Range, Karekare, Zion Hill Track, B.S. Parris, 27. iv. 1971, PDD 25043; Auckland City, Epsom, Silver Rd, B.P. Segedin, 25. xi. 1977, PDD 59208; Kawau 1., collector unknown, 17 v 1978, PDD 59209; Waiti, near Kawakawa Bay, C. Barber, 6. ii. 1978, PDD 59210; Waitakere Range, Karekare, Zion Hill Track, G.M. Taylor, 1. vi. 1986, PDD 59211; I.e., P.K. Buchanam, 10. ii. 1987, PDD 48110; cultivated basidiome from same collection, PDD 59212; Piha, Winstone Track, P.K. Buchanam, 10. ii. 1987, PDD 48127; cultivated basidiome from same collection, PDD 59757; Piha, Home Track, B.P. Segedin, 20. iii. 1988, PDD 59213; Muriwai, Mitchelson Track, GM. Taylor, 18. ii. 1989, PDD 59214; Whangaparaoa Peninsula, Shakespear Heritage Trail, P.K.C. Austwick 30. xi. 1991, PDD 59215; coromandel—Te Kume, P. Fry, 2. vi. 1974, PDD 32358; WANGANUI—Operiki Pa, S. Davidson, 2. ii. 1966, PDD 25043; wellington— Muritai, Butterfly Creek, M. Curran, 12. ii. 1958, Stevenson 1246 (as P. ostreatus forma), K.

Basidia, cheilocystidia, and pleurocystidia as in the type. Trama and context monomitic; in sections of the context taken near the lamellae are found a few thick-walled, narrow hyphal endings. No oleiferous hyphae present. On the surface of the pileus is a layer of intermeshed hyphae of cells 5-6 X 25-40 µm, all with brownish, plasmatic pigment and many of them with brown, lightly encrusted walls. In some basidiomes (particularly those produced in culture) pilocystidia like the cheilocystidia can be found. Stipe tomentum variable in development, sometimes giving a strongly hirsute appearance. Constituent hyphae as in the holotype.

Holotype: Cooke (1886) described P. australis as 'P. fleshy, convex, smooth, umber (2-3 in.), stem somewhat lateral, short, thick, clad with white tomentum, solid (about an inch long and thick), gills broad, distant, decurrent, spores cylindric-elliptic, straight or curved, 16-18 X 4 µm.'

The exsiccatus shows a pileus 55 mm diameter, dark reddish brown, smooth, dry, fleshy; margin distinctly inrolled; lamellae decurrent, extending in shallow ridges down the stipe, broad (4-5 mm), distant, dark ochraceous; stipe short, 18 mm long by 5-15 mm wide, solid, pale ochraceous, with ridges from the decurrent lamellae in the upper half, faintly anastomosing, tomentose at the base.

Spores 10.5-14 X 4-6 (12.3 X 4.5) µm, Q = 2.7, hyaline, cylindrical, thin-walled, inamyloid, not dextrinoid, variable in size; basidia 30-45 X 7.5 µm, club-shaped, usually with four fairly stout sterigmata, but possibly occasionally also with two; cheilocystidia forming a broad band, arising from narrow, parallel, radiating hyphae, 16-25 X 5 µm, typically clavate, extended apically, or mucronate, with a small swelling at the apex, sometimes surrounded by a small globule of mucus, hyaline, thin-walled; pleurocystidia occasional, club-shaped, 20-30 X 2-6 µm, with 2 or 3 apical processes; sub-hymenium moderately wide (35 µm), filamentous; trama of hyaline, thin-walled, uniform generative hyphae 5-6 µm in diameter, approximately parallel in an undulating pattern, descending; context of hyaline, thin-walled generative hyphae, mostly 7.5 µm in diameter, forming a close network; clamp connections present on all hyphae; oleiferous hyphae absent. Pileipellis a mesh of slightly thick-walled, branching hyphae with yellowish pigment. Stipe tomentum made up of bundles of narrow, thin-walled, clamped, hair-like hyphae of varying lengths and 2-3 um in diameter.

australia—on roots of Leptospermum in S. Australia (holotype). new zealand—in indigenous forest, growing on the wood of Leptospermum scoparium J.R, & G. Forst, Kunzea ericoides (A. Rich.) Joy Thomps., Corynocarpus laevigatus J.R. & G. Forst. and Sophora microphylla Alton, occasionally on the ground from buried roots. The basidiomes may be solitary or in imbricate clusters. Corner (1981) did not name the host wood in Malaysia.

Collections Examined

Stevenson (1964) described this species as follows' Pileus 7-12 cm diam., creamy fawn, orbicular with margin down-rolled at first and later splitting, smooth, dull, pellicle peeling; flesh creamy white. Gills decurrent to deeply decurrent, creamy, moderately crowded, thin, deep, margins becoming lacerate. Stipe 8 X 8 mm., to 1X 1.5 cm., lateral. Spores 9-11 X 4—4.5 µm., non-amyloid, thin-walled. Hymenophoral trama subregular with some thick-walled hyphae. Cuticle of mainly parallel or loosely woven hyphae with clamp-connections.'

additional text on holotype missing

Description of additional NZ collection

Basidiomes solitary or sometimes somewhat imbricate; pileus 30-150 X 40-150 mm, spathulate to flabelliform, sometimes excentrically stipitate, ochraceous (6C5-6B4, K & W), pale yellow brown, darker when wet or grey yellow (4C3, K & W), darker towards margin, paler towards stipe, drying ochraceous, dry, smooth, matt to finely fibrillose, sometimes faintly pellucid striate at margin; margin plane, cracking radially. Lamellae decurrent, white to grey becoming yellow, broad, relatively thin, crowded, in three series. In most dried material, lamellae becoming encrusted at edges. Stipe short and fat or almost indistinguishable, lateral to excentric, 20 X 20 mm, concolorous with pileus, some lamellae running almost to base, not anastomosing, sometimes slightly tomentose at base. Flesh cream, thin. Taste pleasant, smell slightly mealy or woody. Spore print white, becoming cream.

Spores 7-12 X 3.5-5 (9.2 X 4.1) µm, Q = 2.3, oblong to cylindrical, hyaline, smooth, inamyloid and not dextrinoid. Basidia 22-30 X 5-6 µm, clavate, with four sterigmata, not surviving well in dried material. Cheilocystidia 12-17 X 4-6 µm, basically oblong-clavate with a mucronate tip, occasionally bifurcating at tip, hyaline, thin-walled, forming a distinct layer at lamellar margin but not extending back over lamellar face. Pleurocystidia seen in only one collection (PDD 59218), 40 x 4 µm, cylindrical, with a septum near base. Trama of roughly parallel hyphae following a wavy pattern, thin-walled, 3-6 µm in diameter, with conspicuous, almost medallion clamp connections; occasional oleiferous hyphae present, but not invariably. Subhymenium well developed, 35 µm wide, sub-cellular, with spaces between. Context a very loosely interwoven network of hyphae 4-6 µm in diameter, with very conspicuous clamp connections and some thickening of walls (sclerified generative hyphae of Hilber 1982), some with thick-walled tapering ends. A well developed system of oleiferous hyphae, very irregular in shape, 2-9 µm in diameter, very contorted, and with yellowish oily contents, particularly abundant just below pileipellis in one collection (PDD 59217). Pileipellis a layer of thin-walled, faintly yellow repent hyphae. Some emergent hyphae, both thin- and thickish-walled (but not encrusted), sometimes seen on surface.

new zealand: north L: taupo—Tongariro National Park, Whakapapanui Stream, on wood of dead Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides (Hook.f.) Poole, B.P. Segedin, 28. v. 1980, PDD 44961 (holotype of P. rattenburyi), Tongariro National Park, Whakapapaiti Stream, on N. solandri var. cliffortioides, B.P. Segedin 1957, 24. v. 1984; Tongariro National Park, Soda Springs track, on N. solandri var. cliffortioides, J.B. Taytor, 13. vi. 1971, PDD 29255. wellington—York Bay, on Nothofagus trunk, E.H. Atkinson. 26. vi. 1922, PDD 655; Levin, on tree lucerne stump, A.S. Wilkinson, G. Stevenson 874, K; Butterfly Creek, on fallen wood, J. McCan in Stevenson 323, 26. vi. 1948, K (holotype of P. purpureo-olivaceus). south i .: buller—Lake Daniels Tr„ on rotten N. menziesii, R.F.R. McNabb, 16. v. 1969, PDD 31357.

australia: tasmania—Mt Dromedary, on dead wood, Rodway Collection no. 146, HO.

Spores 6.5 - 9 x 4.5-5 (7.6 x 4.7)µm, hyaline, thin-walled, inamyloid, cylindrical-elliptic to slightly phaseoliform, collapsing easily. Basidia 37-40 x 6-8 µm, elongate-clavate, hyaline, sometimes with granular contents, 4-spored. Gill edge sterile; cheilocystidia crowded, varied in shape, cylindric-clavate, more strongly clavate to broadly lageniform, 25 x 3-7 µm, thin-walled, hyaline, all with conspicuous clamps at base; pleurocystidia absent. Pileipellis a thick parallelocutis of distinctive incrusted to banded, clamped hyphae 4-7 µm diam., incrustations or bands deep purple-black in 3% KOH, congo red or Melzer's solution. Context just-below the pileipellis of sub-parallel, light brown (some incrusted), somewhat gelatinous hyphae 2-4 µm diam; rest of context hyaline, thin-walled interwoven hyphae 4-6 (-7) µm diam, with occasional oleiferous hyphae with cyanophilic contents. Lamellar trama similar to context but with scattered incrusted cells appearing dark blackish-brown in 3% KOH and Melzer's solution; subhymenium well-developed, pseudoparenchymatous.

Stipe surface densely covered with distinctive coralloid clusters of short caulocystidia 11-35 x 7 µm, hyaline, with large clamp connections; some cystidia with thickened walls, others with hair like extensions.