Cuphocybe olivacea Heim (24D) For discussion see C. alborosea Horak

Herb. HK. ZT 68/21: 'S of Gordon’s Knob, Motueka River, Golden Downs, Prov. Nelson, N.Z.; leg. Horak, 8.II.968'. - Herb. HK. ZT 68/55 (PDD 27034): 'Goldwater Hut, S of Lake Rotoiti, Prov. Nelson, N.Z.; leg. Horak, 3.II.1968'. - Herb. HK. ZT 69/106: 'St. Arnaud, Lake Rotoiti, Prov. Nelson, N.Z.; leg. Horak, 25.II.1969'.

Pileus 30-60 mm diam., pulvinate or convex becoming plano-convex, brown olive when young turning date brown-olivaceous, densely covered with radially arranged, persistent, brown or ochraceous squamules or scales from the veil, viscid to glutinous, margin sometimes slightly striated, often seamed with membranaceous veil remnants. Lamellae adnate to adnexed, occasionally decurrent, large, greyish-blue when young turning beige-olivaceous and bright rust brown to argillaceous at maturity, gill edge concolorous, conspicuously notched or serrate, with an irregular, vertical striation at the gill face, intermixed. Stipe 25-60(80) x 5-15 mm, up to 25 mm diam. at the base, equal or attenuated towards the apex, base abruptly marginate but never with marginate, conspicuous bulb, rather piston-like. Bluish-greenish when young, turning ochraceous, densely covered with golden or ochraceous squamules or small scales from the veil, sometimes arranged in irregular bands or patches, fibrillose, dry, hollow. Cortina absent. Context whitish to brownish, olive brown beneath the cuticle, green-blue in the upper parts of the stipe. Odor and taste not distinctive. Chemical reactions on pileus: KOH - reddish brown; HCl - yellow; NH₃ - negative.
Spore print deep rust brown. Spores 11-15.5 x 7-8.5 µm, broadly ovate to ellipsoid, densely covered with small (up to 0.5  µm diam.) isolated warts, warts not coarser towards the apical region; germ pore, plage or mucro absent. Basidia 35-46 x 12-14 µm, 4-spored. Cystidia absent. Cuticle consisting of strongly gelatinized cylindrical hyphae (4-6 µm diam.) forming a cutis, encrusted with yellow-brown pigment, clamp connections present. Patches of the veil composed of cylindrical, not-gelatinized hyphae, 6-15 µm diam., strongly encrusted with brown pigment

Amongst litter under Nothofagus spp. (N. fusca, N. menziesii, N. cliffortioides). New Zealand.

Fig. 1 a-d; Heim (1951); Horak (1968: 200).