Fungi

Turns yellow when bruised This poisonous mushroom has been introduced into Australia. It is very common and widely distributed in North America and Europe, and is also found in North Africa. Similar to the common field mushroom, but recognisable for its tendency to...

Type of cup fungi Aleuria is a genus of fungi in the Pyrenemataceae, a large family in the order Ascomycota. In North America the best known is Aleuria aurantia, Orange Peel Fungus. Another possible Pyrenemataceae fungus, Aleuria species. The fruit bodies of Aleuria...

Strong unpleasant smell This Coral Fungus has relatives which are known as the "wrinkled" fungi or Chanterelles but this genus forms coral shapes of orange, apricot, pinkish brown or salmon pink branches that are usually flattened towards the tips the ends of which...

Type of stinkhorn fungus This fungus features outstretched red tentacles and evil-smelling brown-green slime in the centre. The fruiting body emerges from an "egg". Found on rich soils and mulch in shady spots. The stipe (stalk) is white, spongy, up to 8 cm long,...

Also called fairy cups Tiny cup fungi Saprobic (feeds on decaying wood) in dense clusters. Fruiting body cup to disc-shaped up to 3 mm across, tiny stem or nearly without, bright yellow. Widespread, found throughout the world. Found on decaying cones of banksias and...

Pores instead of gills This Bolete was observed on Enoggera Creek upstream from Walton Bridge Reserve, on a walk up the dry creek bed during the drought. The fungus was on the creek edge, with a swollen stalk, about 15 mm across, and splitting with age around the rim....

Used commerically for staining This specimen was photographed in Lamington National Park. Chloricibora species are frequently found on decaying wood in moist forests. They stain the wood blue green, which has led to commercial...

Appears in fairy rings A member of the Agarics (fungi with gills). This mushroom appeared in leaf litter in a garden in The Gap. Sometimes appears in fairy rings. Usually the centre of colonies dies and the only living part is around the outside edge, where the...

Grows in leaf litter Yellow Club Clavulinopsis amoena is a coral fungus which is variable in colour from bright apricot to cadmium yellow and grows up to 5 cm high. It forms slender, cylindrical fruiting bodies that grow on the ground among plant litter. The species...

Smell attracts flies Also known as Red Basket or Cage Fungi. The Phallaceae, or stinkhorns, are a family of basidiomycetes which produce a foul-scented, phallus-shaped mushroom. Stinkhorns produce a sticky spore mass on their tip which has an odor of carrion, dung, or...

Found growing at SOWN Nursery A frequently encountered mushroom, with a tendency to grow in clusters on stumps and logs (the wood may be buried, causing the mushrooms to appear terrestrial). Whiteish-grey to greyish brown cap may be smooth or slightly scruffy but has...

Little eggs can pop open with rain Shaggy to hairy, vase s-shaped, buff to dark brown exterior, grooved interior, found on forest debris in open woods. In urban environments they often be found in sawdust, woodchip, or well enriched soil. Cup is striated. They are...

Widely distributed in tropics Gold Tufts Cyptotrama aspratum is also known as Cyptotrama chrysopeplum. The bright yellow to yellowish orange cap covered with short spines is a key feature. Gills are white and rather widely spaced. Widely distributed in tropical...

Common near O'Reilly's Orange Pore Fungi is as a bright orange stalked fan, to 3 cm in diameter, with prominent pores on the underside, very common on the walk trails in Lamington National Park near to O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat. Favolaschia calocera is thought to...

Very fibrous and inedible Geastrum is a genus of puffball-like mushrooms in the family Geastraceae. Many species are commonly known as earthstars. The name comes from geo meaning earth and aster meaning star. At maturity, the outer layer of the fruiting body splits...

Scarlet when young Hygrocybe miniata has a dry convex cap scarlet when young and fresh, but often fading to orange or yellow and gills which are attached to the stem or begin to run slightly down it. Spore print: white. A recent CSIRO PUBLISHING / Australian...

Found on all continents Lentinus arcularius, also known as the spring polypore, is a species of fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It has been found on all continents, but has primarily been documented in the United States, Austria, Mexico, Australia and...

Genus has a widespread distribution This may be Leucocoprinus birnbaumii or another Lecocoprinus species, photographed in mulch in a suburban garden in The Gap, Brisbane in March 2007. This specimen is not positively identified even to genus. The yellow tinge receded...

Common around The Gap in the wet Pink Bonnet Marasmius haematochephalus is commonly seen in the wet season in The Gap Rainforest along the bike path and in backyards – even in the lawn. This delicate fungus has a thin, dark pink, conical cap, which is scalloped at the...

Seen along bikepaths in Enoggera catchment Night-light Mushroom Mycena chlorophos is bioluminescent appearing white to light brown in daylight but emitting a pale green light after dark. Fruiting occurs in forests on fallen woody debris such as dead twigs, branches...

Sticky to slimy when wet One of only a few orange members of Mycena. White spore print helps separate it from other small, orange, wood-loving mushrooms. It grows in tight clusters on the decaying logs of hardwoods. Gill faces (not edges) are paler. Smooth cap 1-4 cm...

Bioluminescent properties Deeply funnel shaped like some of the Austropaxillus, growing on wood in wet forest. Has bioluminescent properties when viewed at night. Photo: Klaus Querengasser Another photo of the group above, from a slightly higher angle showing the caps...

Found on decaying organic material Possibly Palomino cup Peziza repanda one of the Pezizaceae which is a large group of cup fungi found on a variety of decaying organic material including organic household waste. Well-decayed logs may sport the Palomino cup fungus...

Appears on mulch after rain Grows alone or gregariously in gardens, woodchips and cultivated areas. Readily appears on mulch after plenty of rain and then warm or hot days. Mature fruiting body is spike-like, to about 20 cm; with a 3 to 4.5 cm, fragile cap which is...

Bright red when fresh This polypore is a common wood-decaying fungus, frequently seen on dead logs and smaller branches in habitats ranging from quite moist to almost desert. Although quite variable in size, it generally forms...

Taste mild to faintly peppery Russula persanguinea is a mycorrhizal species (symbiotic with plant roots) in eucalypt forest and woodlands usually found in small, dispersed groups. Cap to around 9 cm, convex but depressed at the centre, pinky red to dark purple red....

On decaying wood throught the world Schizophyllum commune Split gill fungus is found on decaying wood throughout the world. The fruiting body 1-4 cm wide. The upper surface is covered with small hairs. Under surface has gill-like folds that are split down the middle....

Eyelashes are distinctive feature Scutellinia sp. are very similar to each other. They grow gregariously or in clusters. The stemless fruiting body is is broadly cup shaped (these ones are flattish). The margin has long, eyelash-like, dark hairs. These eyelashes are...

Also called False Turkey-tail Stereum ostrea displays zones of brown and reddish brown colors, underneath lacks a pore surface (smooth underside). Lives on the dead wood of hardwoods in dense overlapping clusters, common. Wikipedia says Stereum is the most...

Parasitic fungi All Tremella species are parasites of other fungi. Tremella fuciformis is commonly known as snow fungus, snow ear, silver ear fungus, white jelly mushroom and white cloud ears. It produces white, frond-like, gelatinous fruit bodies.The species is...

New to science This magnificent mushroom found early in 2025 on the Paten Road Track, Mount Coot-tha is an undescribed Xerocomus sp. It's related to the Boletes, a family of mushrooms which usually have pores instead of gills on their underside and include the...