C. pallida appear to be nearest to the South American species C. berteroi Berk., but differs from it in colour, size, hollow mature stroma, internal fibres and length of paraphyses.

The first sporophores were seen in Southland in 1946, somewhat later than those of C. gunnii; spore discharge was noted on October 24.

The galls are of an entirely different type from those of C. gunnii or C. nigra. On twigs they appear as longitudinal rows of pimples erupting through the bark, and from these the sporophores arise singly. These galls spread and cause twisting of the branches, which become swollen and brittle; many branches die, others suffering from breakage due to wind. In large trees the crown becomes thin and the branches distorted.

The most striking deformity results from the fungus attacking a small shoot on the trunk of a sapling; in this case the fungus spreads down the twig and attacks the trunk. At first a ridge is formed beneath the bark, as growth proceeds the ridge divides into two and the final result is a paddle-shaped -all. As an example, a sapling of l ½ in d.b.h. had a gall extending 1ft above and 3ft below the source of infection, which was a small twig on the trunk. The canker was 3in wide and the stern three-quarters encircled. The same stem had several such cankers of larger or smaller size and the upper part had been killed by the attack. See Plate 12 B.

In these paddle-shaped galls the central area may be dead, covered by pimples, or may appear to be normal bark. Most of the sporophores occupy the margins of the galls.