CONIFERAE. Podocarpus hallii: Auckland, Titirangi, Waitakere Ranges, 250 m. Wellington, National Park, 950 m; Mt. Tongariro, 850-1,100 m; Mt. Hector, Tararua Ranges, 900 m. Canterbury, Arthur's Pass, 850 m. Podocarpus totara: Auckland, Swanson, 120 m; Oratia, Waitakere Ranges, 200 m; Titirangi, 250 m. Wellington, Mt. Holdsworth, Tararua Ranges, 1,350 m. Canterbury, Peel Forest, 600 m, type collection, P.D.D. herbarium, No. 3349. Otago, Hollyford Valley, 250 m; Alton Stream, Tuatapere, 120 m; Ulva Islet, Stewart Island; Ryans Creek, Stewart Island.

Pilei annual, scattered, membranous-coriaceous, 2-3 mm long, 1-8 mm broad, usually pendulous when attached by narrow vertices, conical-cupulate when seated upon narrow bases, or sometimes scutellate and attached by broad bases; exterior fawn or tan, darker peripherally, finely radiate striate, or wrinkled, naked; margin acute, inturned or plane, entire or slightly lacerate; hymenial surface even or slightly rugulose, bay, concave. Context white (brown in some old specimens), to 250 µ, thick, of radiately arranged, compact, parallel hyphae; generative hyphae 4-5 µ, diameter, walls 1 µ, thick, hyaline, tortuous. Hymenial layer to 70 µ deep, a dense palisade of basidia and paraphyses. Basidia clavate, 40-56 x 7-9 µ, bearing 2-4 spores; sterigmata erect, slender, to 5 µ long. Paraphyses subclavate, 32-48 x 6-7 µ. Spores obovate or elliptical, apiculate, 8-9.5 x 5-6 µ, walls smooth, hyaline, 0.2 µ thick.

TYPE LOCALITY: Peel Forest, Canterbury, New Zealand.
DISTRIBUTION: New Zealand.

HABITAT: Scattered on bark of living and dead branches and trunks.

Common on two endemic species of Podocarpus, called totara by the Maori, the species possesses the largest pilei of any present in the region. Usually 1-3 mm diameter, pendulous and conical-cupulate (as in the type collection), pilei sometimes may extend laterally to 8 mm, and become scutellate with a slightly wrinkled hymenial surface. Pilei grow upon bark of living or dead branches and small trunks, and because of the exterior colour are difficult to detect. In Kew herbarium there is a collection, ex "Buller Valley, Westland, T. Kirk, No. 236" which Cooke placed under the cover of `Cyphella' cupulaeformis Berk. & Rav. The latter differs in possessing markedly angular, distorted, irregular spores