NEW Zealand: NORTH I.: auckland—Waitakere Range, Bethells Beach, B. P. Segedin, 21. iv, 1978, Holotype. PDD 59757.

Basidiome caespitose. Pileus 30-10 x 20-80 mm, convex, sub orbicular to flabelliform; surface dark grey, covered with fine greyish, floccose squamules when young, smooth when old, drying deep orange brown (7E5, K & W); margin strongly inrolled, with well developed velar remnants when young, less so with age, not lobed. Lamellae drab white, drying greyish orange (6B6, K & W), in five series, decurrent, very narrow, fairly thick, anastomosing towards stipe and continuing down it as ridges. Stipe cylindric, solid, strongly excentric, up to 20 mm long by 12 mm wide, pale brown with yellowish tinges towards lamellae, tomentose to strigose towards base. Partial veil well developed, ephemeral, fibrillose, not leaving a recognisable ring. Smell and taste not noticeable. Spore print unknown. Spores 6.5-10 X 3.5-4.5 (8.75 X 3.75) µm, Q = 2.3, variable in size, oblong to oblong-cylindric, hyaline, sometimes with granular contents, smooth, thin-walled, with a broad apiculus. Basidia 30-37 X 5-6 µm, narrowly clavate, 2- and 4-spored. Cheilocystidia 8-25 X 3-8 µm, abundant, crowded to form a sterile, lamellar edge, narrowly clavate to cylindric with a mucronate apex, extending to a narrow finger-like process, sometimes with a small capitellum, almost always surrounded by a drop of mucilage, sometimes the mucus from adjacent cystidia merging to form an irregular blob with 2 or more capitella visible inside. Digitate apical process with mucus blob often breaking away from apex of cystidium and floating free, looking rather like a conidium. No true conidia found on any part of basidiome. Pleurocystidia rare, broadly finger-like, aseptate or sometimes uniseptate, occasionally branching at apex. Subhymenium up to 20 µm wide, of narrow pseudoparenchymatous hyphae. Trama irregular, monomitic, with thin-walled, clamped hyphae, 2-6 µm in diameter. Context monomitic, of thin-walled, interwoven hyphae with clamps, 3-7 µm in diameter, their walls thickening with age, sometimes narrow-tipped with granular contents; a few oleiferous hyphae present. Pileipellis a broad, repent cutis up to 50 µm wide, of narrow, parallel, brownish, thick-walled hyphae, 3-5 µm in diameter. Young specimens with a suprapellis of greyish, thin-walled, sometimes finely encrusted hyphae, 4-5 µm in diameter, with clavate ends (up to 7 µm in diameter) which make up small squamules visible on pileus. Stipe tissue composed of hyphae 3-9 µm in diameter, the broader ones thin-walled and with clamp-connections, the narrower ones terminal, aseptate, with thick walls and a tendency towards arboriform structure. Tomentose hairs towards base composed of bundles of thin-walled, clamped hyphae of fairly uniform diameter (5 µm).

On dead wood in coastal forest.

Basidiomata caespitosa. Pileus 30-40 X 20-80 mm, convexus, sub-orbicularis vel flabelliformis, plumbeus, squamulosus, subgriseus, floccosus in juventute, demum laevis: margo fortiter incurvata primo, vestigiis appendiculatis veli in juventute, evanescentibus in senectute. Lamellae albidae, in sicco griseo-aurantiacae, decurrentes, crassae, perangustae, seriebus quinque, anastomosantes ad stipitem. Stipes 20X12 mm, fortiter excentricus, cylindricus, bubalinus, tomentosus vel strigosus ad basim. Velum partiale evolutum, fibrillosum, evanescens sine annulo residuo. Odor et sapor baud conspicui. Caro alba. Sporae 6.5-10 X 3.5-4.5 (8.75 X 3.75) µm, hyalinae, amplitudine admodum variabiles, oblongae vel cylindraceae, baud amyloidiae, laeves, pariete tenui, apiculo lato. Basidia 30-37 x 5-6 µm, anguste clavata, bi- vel tetraspora; cheilocystidia 8—25 X 3-8 µm, larga, aggregata in acie sterili lamellarum, anguste clavata vel cylindracea, apice mucronata vel digitiformi, interdum capitello parvo, plerumque gutta mucilagina, apex mucifer interdum caducus. Pleurocystidia rara, late digitiformia, interdum uni-septata, plerumque ramosa in apicem. Subhymenium angustum, usque 20 µm latum, parenchymatum. Trama irregularis, ex hyphis fibulatis, parietibus tenuibus. Contextus tramae similis sed hyphis incrassescentibus in senectute; aliquot hyphae oleosae adsunt. Pileipellis ex hyphis angustis, brunneolis, repentibus; suprapellis squamulosa ex hyphis griseis, interdum leviter incrustatis, clavatis in extremis. Tomentum stipitis ex fascibus hypharum angustatis (5 µm), fibulatis. Ad lignum putrescente in silva littorali.

holotype: PDD 59757.