Black, tough-fleshed, narrow, upright fruiting bodies on soil, up to about 5 cm tall. The are 4 or more species of Geoglossum in New Zealand. The genus is poorly understood both here and elsewhere in the world. Trichoglossum looks very similar, but the fruiting body has tiny, dark, stiff setae (bristles). New Zealand has 3, 4, or possibly more Trichoglossum species.

Always on soil, often associated with thick carpets of moss, but ecology poorly understood. There are very few collections from the South Island.

Although traditionally grouped with the cup fungi, the dark, multiseptate spores of these genera do not fit well into this group. Recent molecular studies have shown them to be phylogenetically distinct. A new Class Geoglossomycetes has been proposed by some authors, but uncertainty remains about the true higher relationships of these fungi.

Black, upright, fleshy fruiting bodies. Discomycetes, with the outside of the upper part of the fruiting body covered with the fertile layer, with a sterile base. Saprobic on soil.

Taxonomically poorly understood, 3 species have been reported from New Zealand, only those listed below have descriptions or images available from NZFungi.