Under (1) Betula pendula, Canterbury: Lincoln College, 24.vi.l971, R. F. R. McN. (2) Fagus sylvatica, Canterbury: Christchurch, Hagley Park, 2.V.1971, R. F. R. and A. J. McN. (3), Pinus pinaster, Canterbury: Christchurch Botanic Gardens, 17.ii.l968, 31.iii.l968, R. F. R. McN. (4) Pinus radiata. Auckland: Cornwall Park, ll.vi.l967, R. F. R. and R. J. McN.; 18.vi.l967, R. F. R. McN.; 29.vi.l967, R. F. R. McN., PDD 25977; Whitford, 2.vii.l967, A. Hastings, PDD 24522. (5) Pinus sp„ Auckland: Waikowhai, 26.V.1970, L. Esler, PDD 28314. (6) Quercus robur. Auckland Domain, 27.V.1970, B. S. Parris, PDD 28315; Auckland University, 13.V.1971, J. P. Croxall, PDD 29392; Canterbury: Christchurch, Hagley Park, 2.V.1971, A. Y. McN. (7) Mixed introduced trees, Canterbury: Christchurch, 6.V.1970, A. P. Mulcock; Christchurch Botanic Gardens, 31.iii.l968, R. F. R. McN.

PILEUS: 2-5 cm diam., hemispherical or convex when young, convex, plano-convex, applanate, or centrally depressed with reflexed margins at maturity, hygrophanous, non-viscid, faintly pellucid-striate when wet, subglabrous to finely furfuraceous when wet, furfuraceous to minutely squarrose when dry, brick red to reddish brown, drying pallid fawn to buff. Cuticle composed of unspecialised, repent, parallel or slightly interwoven, thin-walled, clamped hyphae 7-15 µm diam. LAMELLAE: adnexed, adnate or occasionally subdecurrent, distant, intermixed, thick, to 7 mm deep, flesh pink, glaucous. STIPE: 2-6 cm long, ± equal or tapering apically, 3-8 mm diam., dry, hollow, often twisted, coarsely longitudinally fibrillose giving stipe a silky sheen, reddish brown; flesh concolorous or slightly paler; basal mycelium white. SPORES: spore print white when fresh: spores globose to subglobose, apiculate, hyaline, inamyloid, moderately echinulate, 9.5-13.5 µm diam. including spines, spines to 2 µm long. HYMENIUM: basidia subclavate to clavate, hyaline, 40-65 X 9-13 µm, 4-spored, sterigmata to 9 µm long; paraphyses simple or sparingly branched, cylindrical or irregular, to 4 µm diam. HYMENOPHORAL TRAMA: regular, composed of tinted, parallel, long-celled hyphae; clamp connections present. CONTEXT OF PILEUS: reddish brown. SMELL AND TASTE: not distinctive. CHEMICAL CHARACTERS: FeSO4 on pileus and context—rapidly dark grey; KOH and NH4OH on pileus and context— n.r.

Gregarious under introduced trees.

Microscopically, Laccaria tetraspora f. major is indistinguishable from f. tetraspora, but fresh specimens can be recognised by the larger fructifications and coarsely longitudinally fibrillose stipe. The taxon has not previously been recorded from New Zealand and in contrast to f. tetraspora, appears to be associated only with introduced trees.