Cap brown to dark brown, often with scales, usually dry. Stalk with well-developed ring with prominent striations. Spore print brown.

Always on soil, ectomycorrhizal under Nothofagus and tea-tree. There are three species in New Zealand, two of these known also from Australia. D. gunnii is commonly found under tea-tree, D. majestatica and D. phlebophora may be restricted to Nothofagus.

Descolea has the appearance of a small Rozites, but Rozites tends to have strongly glutinous caps, and Descolea dryish caps. The only certain way to distinguish the genera is to examine the microscopic structure of the cap.

Ectomycorrhizal mushrooms on soil under Nothofagus and tea-tree. Characterised by a thick, persistent, ribbed ring on the stalk. Morphologically very similar to Rozites.

D. gunnii appears to be a 'weedy' species, often associated with nursery-grown tea-tree.

Three species have been reported from New Zealand, only those listed below have descriptions or images available from NZFungi.

D. majestaticaHorak, found in South Island with Nothofagus spp., D. phlebophora Horak, also found with Nothofagus but in addition with Leptospermum, and D. gunnii (Berk.) Horak based on Secotium gunnii (Gunn 257 in K) noted by Berkeley (in Massee, 1891) and originally collected at Rotorua. The last species grows with both Leptospermum spp. and Nothofagus spp. and is fairly common in coastal and submontane forests; it is also known from New Guinea (Horak, 1980d). D. gunnii is closely related to the Australian D. recedens (Cooke & Massee) Singer now known to be widespread in Eastern Australia (Horak, 1980d; Watling unpubl. data). Descolea has been recently placed in the Bolbitiaceae by Singer (1972) and Horak (1979b).