CANTERBURY: SW of Motukarara Gun Club, near Lake Ellesmere, NZMS 260 M36/75-18-; Ladbrooks, NZMS 260 M36/72-33-; Christchurch, NZMS 260 M36/85-45-, PDD 68569.

Pileus 60-200 mm diam., thick, fleshy, hemispherical when young, finally broadly convex-applanate, ± centrally depressed, surface scaly, scales sometimes become very pronounced during dehydration, whitish (N9.5) when young, finally moderate brown (7.5YR 4/4), bruising reddish to strong reddish orange (7.5R 6/10-5/12); margin thin, inrolled, edge broken with remnants of veil; lamellae insertion free, thin, crowded, pale grey (5YR 8/1-8/2), when young, finally brown to dark brown (5YR 4/4-3/2); edge pale and sterile; trama parallel to irregular. Stipe 40-80 x 40-50 mm, central, solid, cylindrical, base round to narrowing, surface smooth, white (N9.5) above annulus, moderate brown (7.5YR 4/4) below annulus, bruising red to carmine-red (5R 5/12-3/12). Annulus peronate, sometimes double, thin, white (N9.5) above, moderate brown (7.5YR 4/4) below close to stem, surface smooth. Flesh quickly becoming red to carmine-red (5R 5/ 12-3/12) with cutting or bruising; odour unpleasant, fish-like, taste unpleasant. Schaffer's cross-reaction negative.
Basidia 4-spored, 14-25 x 4-7 µm, clavate with sterigmata 4-5(-8) µm. Cheilocystidia 17-30 x 4-8 µm, broadly clavate to cylindrical, hyaline, abundant. Basidiospores dark brown (5YR 3/2) in mass, size (7.0-)7.9(-8.7) x (5.5-)6.1(-6.7) µm, elongation (1.1-)1.3(-l.4) µm, spherical to globose, pale brown to brown (2.5YR 4/4-5YR 4/4) in water, refractive centre (single droplets), apiculus lateral, gem-pore not visible:

NEW ZEALAND Canterbury.

Gregarious in saline, sandy soils. Can form large (1-10 m diam.) rings in tussock grassland/pasture. Not of high edible quality.