Holotype (PDD 27041); Isotype (Herb. Horak 68/368): 'Pakawau Creek N of Collingwood, Prov. Nelson, N.Z.; leg. Horak, 7.V.1968'. - Herb. HK. ZT 69/147: 'Xmas Village, Stewart Island, N.Z; leg. Horak, 17.III.1969'.

Pileus 6-12 mm diam., convex at first becoming umbonate or campanulate, later also plane and sometimes subdepressed at centre, brown to beige, drying colours fading, glabrous or slightly fibrillose, striate, hygrophanous, dry. Lamellae (L 6-10, 1 3), adnexed, ventricose, whitish or beige turning pink, gill edge concolorous. Stipe 10-15 x 1-1.5 mm, cylindrical, coloured like pileus, glabrous, dry, fistulose, fragile. Odor and taste not distinctive.
Spores 6-7.5 x 5-6 µm, 5-angled. Basidia 25-36 x 8 µm, 4-spored. Cystidia absent. Cuticle a cutis of repent, cylindrical hyphae (8-12-18 µm diam.), membrane hyaline, thin-walled and encrusted by brown pigment. Clamp connections abundant.

On rotten debris ( of tree-fern,) or wood (of Dacrydium cupressinum). New Zealand.

Pileo 6-12 mm lato, ex convexo umbonato, aetate plano, usque ad subdepresso, brunneo siccitate pallidiori, glabro, striato, sicco. Lamellis adnato-emarginatis, brunneolis postea roseis, acie integra instructis. Stipite 10-15 x 1-1.5 mm, cylindraceo, pileo concolori, levi, sicco, fragili, fistuloso. Odore saporeque haud distincto. Sporis 6-7.5 x 5-6 µm, 5-angulatis. Basidiis 4-sporigeris. Cystidiis nullis. Epicute ex hyphis cylindraceis cutem formantibus, membrana hyalina pigmento brunneo incrustatis. Septis fibulatis. Ad detritum et lignum putridum. Novezelandia.

The small, fragile carpophores and the small 5-angled spores characterise E. fragile. Macroscopically it greatly resembles E. melleum Hk., but the spores of that fungus are considerably larger (8-10 x 6-7 µm).

Holotypus (PDD 27041): 'Collingwood, N.Z.: leg. Horak, 7.V. 1968'.