Finding fungi in Rotorua

On a recent trip to Rotorua, I was amazed at the diverse number of mushrooms we found on family walks under the redwoods near Hamurana Springs forest and around the thermal pools in Kuirau Park.  It is interesting to find so many different varieties of mushrooms, when a few weeks ago before the fungal foray, I would have walked past and seen none.

When I discussed this with scientists at Landcare, it was interesting to discover that there are no published studies of fungi that grow in the warm, humid conditions of the thermal areas around Rotorua and Taupo.

The steam from the thermal pools made my glasses fog up, but not so much as to obstruct my search of mushrooms!

A small selection of the mushrooms we photographed on our walks.