Kingdom: Fungi
Subkingdom: Dikarya
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
Class: Agaricomycetes
Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
Order: Agaricales
Suborder: Agaricineae
Family: Strophariaceae
Genus: Clavogaster
Species: C. virescens
Binominal name: Clavogaster virescens
Synonyms: Weraroa virescens, Psilocybe virescens, Secotium virescens, Secotium superbum, Clavogaster novozelandicus, Agaricus areolatus var. virescens
Common name: Blue pouch fungus, Spindle Pouch
Clavogaster virescens is an indigenous, endemic, gasteroid, pouch fungi that are found on the ground among leaf litter in rain forests during autumn. It grows >8cm tall and >60 mm wide.
The broad cap is ovate or broadly conical. Its peridium is a pale sage-green/blue in colour. The caps base is rounded. The gleba is a bright ferruginous orange colour. The caps are often found eaten by insects or birds. It is thought that this releases the spores as this species has lost the ability to self-eject them.
The stout, greyish-white stem is short, 5- 50 mm high and 12mm wide. There is no stem ring present.
Clavogaster virescens is often mistaken for Psilocybe weraroa
Clavogaster virescens is characterised by the reddish, brown colour of its gleba and is short, stout stem.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
