new zealand: kermadec is.—Raoul 1., Terraces, on Araucaria heterophylla, e.h.c. mcKenzie, 20. ix. 1988, PDD 55006: ibid., on Rhopalostylis baueri var. cheesemanii, 20. ix. 1988, PDD 55042; north L: northland—Dargaville, oil Cordyline australis, JM. Cox, 15. i. 1990, PDD 57423; Hen 1., summit ridge, on C. australis, R.E. Beever, 31. xii. 1990, PDD 59756; Poor Knights Is, Tawhiti Rahi, near Muff, on Corynocarpus laevigatus, R.E. Beever. 26. iv. 1991, PDD 58768; ibid., Charles Stm, on dead C. australis or C. kaspar, R.E. Beever, 16. iv. 1991, PDD 59679; auckland—Waitakere Range, Karamatura Track, on unidentified log, J.A. Ratlenbury, B.P. Segedin, 27. xi. 1986, PDD 59683; Kaipara Harbour, Waionui Inlet, on C. australis, R.E. Beever, 21. xi. 1987, PDD 48364; Auckland Airport, on C. australis, P.K. Buchanan, 12. ii. 1988, PDD 48658; Orewa, Centreway Rd, on C. australis, J. Rees-George, 1. vi. 1988, PDD 54490; Hauraki Gulf, Tiritiri Matangi 1., P.K. Buchanan, on C. australis, 14. ii. 1988, PDD 48644; Filth of Thames, vie. Kaiaua, on dead C. australis, P.K. Buchanan, 1. ii. 1989, PDD 57424; Mt Roskill, Ambury Ave, on C. kaspar x C. australis, R.E. Beever, 2. iv. 1989, PDD 59681; Mt Albert, Hampstead Rd, on C. australis, R.E. Beever, 1. v. 1989, PDD 59755; Mt Albert, Haverstock Rd, R.E. Beever, 5. v. 1989, PDD 59756; Mt Roskill, Nash Rd, on C. australis, P.K. Buchanan. 4. v. 1989, PDD 58403; New Windsor, Westminster St. on roots of Araucaria heterophylla, J. Rees-George. 13. iii. 1990, PDD 57421; Mt Eden, Landscape Rd, on C. australis, B.P. Segedin, 20. i. 1991, PDD 59684; Auckland, on Liquidamber styraciflua. J.A. Gunton, 11. ii. 1991, PDD 58730; Waiake, James Way, O.R.W. Sutherland, 8. iv. 1991, PDD 58770; Waitakere Range, Piha Valley Track, on unknown wood, H. Kitahara et al.. 15. v. 1991, PDD 58769; Mt Albert, on C. australis, P.K. Buchanan, 10. iii. 1992, PDD 60289.

Pileus 20-250 X 10-200 mm, often very large, spathulate, flabelliform to dimidiate, convex to nearly flat when old, solitary or imbricate, nearly white when young, becoming greyish brown (5C4, K. & W) near margin and pale golden brown near point of attachment; surface dry, matt, radially finely fibrillose, sometimes with very fine, appressed squamules towards attachment, drying pale yellowish brown (5B5, 6, K & W) to grey brown; margin very slightly inrolled to nearly straight, sometimes lobed, and occasionally split when older. Lamellae decurrent, not anastomosing, in 4 or 5 (or 6) series, white, becoming cream with age and handling, narrow (2 mm) in smaller basidiomes, wider (-5 mm) in larger ones, thin, crowded; margin very finely fimbriate under a lens in fresh state. Stipe always lateral, usually short 10-20 X 10-20 mm, but sometimes up to 50 mm long, sometimes lacking, white; surface downy to strigose. Flesh solid, white, thick (5 mm) in small specimens, thinner in larger ones. Smell slightly fruity, taste sweet. Spore print deep cream. Spores 8-9.5 X 3.5-4.5 (8.6 X 3.9)µm, Q = 2.2, oblong-cylindrical, sometimes slightly longer and narrower in older basidiomes, hyaline, not dextrinoid or amyloid, thin-walled; apiculus distinct but not very broad. Basidia clavate, 22-25 X 6µm, extending as they mature to 35 µm, with 2-4 very fine sterigmata, collapsing very readily. Cheilocystidia very variable in shape, but basically of two kinds. The larger are 20-45µm in length, variable in width (up to 10 µm), hyaline, clavate, pyriform, sphaero-pedunculate or obclavate, often curved or geniculate, thin-walled, in clusters like incipient hyphal pegs, scattered along lamellar edge, responsible for the finely fimbriate edge seen under a lens in young specimens, but collapsing readily with age. Between the clusters of larger cheilocystidia are small, fusoid cystidia 15-25 X 5-10 µn, lageniform to mucronate, sometimes capitulate apically or with short, branched, apical protuberances. All cheilocystidia arise from a band of long, narrow, parallel hyphae running radially along lamellar margin. Pleurocystidia are difficult to define; some versiform structures present among the basidia and of the same length could be interpreted as basidioles. Subhymenium a narrow (20-25 µm wide) zone of short, branched hyphae, cellular to filamentous near the trama. Trama irregular, with a tendency towards radiate development in older basidiomes, monomitic at first but becoming quite strongly dimitic, with skeletal hyphae becoming dominant in older basidiomes. Skeletal hyphae 2-6 nm in diameter, varying in length up to 1000 µm, terminal in origin, becoming very thick-walled, slightly contorted to 'arboriform' (Hilber 1982), occasionally producing short, stumpy side branches. The rest of the trama consists of generative hyphae 3-4 µm in diameter with conspicuous clamp connections, thin-walled at first, becoming sclerified. Context similar to trama but more loosely interwoven, with many skeletal hyphae, somewhat straighter than those in trama, mixed with thin-walled generative hyphae; occasionally a few somewhat contorted oleiferous hyphae are found. Pileipellis a narrow zone of more or less parallel, narrow (up to 4 µm in diameter), thin-walled hyphae coloured faintly brown, with clamp connections. Some erect hyphal endings have very narrow, mucronate tips and some are aggregated into the small, appressed squamules towards the stipe. Stipe tissues comprising thin-walled generative hyphae 4-7 µm in diameter and arboriform skeletals 2-4 µm in diameter, very long, thick-walled and aseptate, in approximately equal proportions. Tomentose covering of stipe, when present, consisting of bundles of thin-walled, clamped hyphae 3-4 µm in diameter.

Primarily on dead Cordyline australis, where it may occur in great abundance for two or more seasons after the death of the tree. Also recorded on Araucaria heterophylla (Salisb.) Franco, Corynocarpus laevigatus, Leptospermum scoparium, Liquidamber styraciflua L. and Rhopalostylis baueri (Hook. f.) H. Wendi. & Drude var. cheesmanii (Becc. ex Cheeseman) Sykes.