Material. - NEW ZEALAND: South Island, Nelson: Tophouse, 3. III. 1968, leg. HORAK (PDD 27218, holotype; 68/107, isotype); Matakitaki, Murchison, 27. I. 1969, leg. HORAK (ZT 69/27).

Pileus -10 mm, circular becoming hemispherical or conchate to kidney-shaped, at first convex later expanded, margin slightly incurved; argillaceous to cinnamon brown; dry, membranaceous, conspicuously pruinose to appressed-fibrillose, striate when moist. - Lamellae (L -6,1-3) adnate to almost free; concolorous with pileus turning (yellow-)brown or tobacco brown, edge fimbriate to notched, concolorous or white, occasionally with guttation droplets in young basidiomes. - Stipe -5 x 1 mm, always distinctly developed, cylindrical, eccentric or lateral, curved; concolorous with pileus; pruinose, solid, single, basal tomentum none. - Veil remnants absent. - Odour and taste not distinctive.
Spore print rust brown. - Spores 7-9 x 5-6 µm, pip-shaped to subamigdaliform, coarse warts embedded in conspicuous perispore, supraapicular depression and plage not distinct, germ pore absent, rust brown. - Basidia 25-35 x 7-8 µm, 4-spored. - Cheilocystidia dimorphic: a) fig. 4: 30-50 x 4-8(-10) µm, broadly fusoid-capitate, with or without strongly refracting plasmatic pigment; b) fig. 5: 25-50 x 5-8(-3) µm, lecythiform, slender neck with distinct capitate apex, thin-walled, hyaline. - Pleurocystidia scattered, in size and shape as cheilocystidia. - Caulocystidia numerous, habit as cheilocystidia (b). - Pileipellis an irregular cutis composed of cylindrical hyphae (5-10 µm diam.), strongly encrusted with brown pigment, membranes not gelatinized, terminal cells lecythiform, 30-60 x 1-5 µm, apex 3.5-7 µm diam., numerous, hyaline. - Clamp connections present.

Habitat. - On rotten wood (and bark) of Nothofagus cliffortioides (HOOK. f.) OERST. and N. fusca (HOOK f.) OERST. (Fagaceae). - New Zealand.

Pileus -10 mm, orbiformis vel conchatus, pallide brunneus, pruinosus. Lamellae ex argillaceo luteobrunneae dein umbrinae, albofimbriatae. Stipes -5 x -1 mm, cylindricus, excentricus vel lateralis, pileo concolor, pruinosus. Velum nullum. Sporae 7-9 x 5-6 µm, pruniformes, valde verrucosae, perisporio instructae. Cheilocystidia biformia (lecythiformia vel fusoideo-capitata). Pilocystidia ex cylindraceo vel subfusoideo-capitata. Ad lignum putridum Nothofagi.

Remarks. -This species closely resembles Galerina excentrica, the second New Zealand species with eccentric stipe, by its shape, size and colour of basidiomes. Microscopically G. nothofaginea is characterized by its rather large, pip-shaped or subamygdaliform spores whose coarse warts are embedded in a thick (-2 µm diam.) perispore. It is noteworthy that the spores plage is usually poorly delimited despite the conspicuous perisporial coat. Another remarkable microscopical feature are the dimorphic cheilocystidia (and pleurocystidia) which are found side by side both on the edges and to a lesser degree also on the faces of the lamellae. The clavate cystidia with broadly rounded apices described above under a) are reminiscent of the striking (cheilo-)cystidia observed in Galerina sect. Physocystis (SMITH & SINGER, 1964). The cheilocystidia mentioned under b), however, are distinguished by their typical tibiiform shape. Similar lecythiform cystidia are also observed on the surface of stipe and pileus (pilocystidia).
G. nothofaginea is closely related to the Australian G. tabacina (No. 5) recorded from northern New South Wales (cf. key). In New Zealand G. nothofaginea occurs on rotten, mossy logs of Nothofagus (N. cliffortioides, N. fusca). In the field it is readily confused with several taxa of similar habit and colours which, however, belong to Phaeomarasmius, Flammulaster (HORAK, 1980 a), Simocybe (HORAK, 1980 b) or Crepidotus.

Novazelandia. PDD 27218 (Holotypus).