Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Subdivision: Pezizomycotina
Class: Pezizomycetes
Order: Pezizales
Family: Discinaceae
Genus: Gyromitra
Species: G. tasmanica
Binominal name: Gyromitra tasmanica
Synonyms: Helvella tasmanica, Helvella monachella
Gyromitra tasmanica is rare species of indigenous fungi found only in New Zealand and Tasmania. The genus Gyromitra comes from gyro meaning convoluted and mitra meaning turban.
Gyromitra tasmanica has a convoluted, brain like dark reddish-brown pileus with entirely free margins. It grows > 6 cm tall and its pileus is > 3 cm in diameter. The cylindrical stipe is stout and smooth.
The photograph below is of a single specimen found beneath kanuka and black beech forest at (1593660E, 5480490N) at 220m altitude in the DoC reserve adjacent to Abel Tasman National Park, Wainui catchment. Photographed September 2017 by Dr Philip Simpson.
The photograph below is of one of two specimens a metre apart on the trackside under kanuka hard/black beech forest (1600560E, 5479700N), altitude 60m, the crest of Totaranui- Goat Bay track, Abel Tasman National Park. Photographed September 2017 by Dr Philip Simpson.
Thanks to Landcare Research’s New Zealand's Virtual Mycota
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ [http://virtualmycota.landcareresearch.co.nz/webforms/vM_Home.aspx
]