Favolashia calocera — Orange pore fungus 14/7/14

These guys are pretty easy to spot because they’re so bright and there isn’t much else in the bush that orange. I found them down the back of the section growing on some fallen beech tree. I took some photos there in the bush but then brought one of the branches out into the light to try and get some better photos - is this cheating? Anyway, what surprised me is how different the colour was, much redder under the canopy and  more of a yellow-orange where there is more light.

Ok, apart from being very cute the most interesting thing I found about orange pore fungi is that they were first observed in Madagascar. It’s not known for sure if they originated there or came from somewhere else in Asia, but now they’ve spread through a number countries including Australia and Aotearoa. The worrying part is that, like other introduced species, it’s possible that they’re displacing native fungi.

Which just opens up a bunch of other questions, such as how did the orange pore fungus get to Aotearoa? Have any fungi been introduced on purpose e.g. by the Acclimatisation Societies (which I’m sure I’ll get to in due course). Maybe the field mushrooms that we buy in the supermarket? And which fungi are native to Aotearoa? Are any of them endangered or being displaced by introduced fungi?

So plenty more to learn about fungi, as well as all the other plants around the section.