''Entoloma hochstetteri'', also known as the blue pinkgill, sky-blue mushroom or similar names, is a species of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

that is native to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The small mushroom is a distinctive all-blue colour, while the gills have a slight reddish tint from the spores. The blue colouring of the

fruit body In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the Ovary (plants), ovary after flowering plant, flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their ...

is due to azulene pigments. Whether ''Entoloma hochstetteri'' is poisonous or not is unknown. The

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name for the mushroom is werewere-kōkako, because its colour is similar to the blue

wattle Wattle or wattles may refer to: Plants *''Acacia sensu lato'', polyphyletic genus of plants commonly known as wattle, especially in Australia and South Africa **''Acacia'', large genus of shrubs and trees, native to Australasia **Black wattle, c ...

of the

kōkako Kōkako (''Callaeas'') are two species of endangered forest birds which are endemic to New Zealand, the North Island kōkako (''Callaeas wilsoni'') and the presumably extinct South Island kōkako (''Callaeas cinereus''). They are both slate-gre ...

bird. This species was one of six native fungi featured in a set of fungal stamps issued in New Zealand in 2002. It is also featured on the

New Zealand fifty-dollar note The New Zealand fifty-dollar note is a New Zealand banknote. It is issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and since 1999 has been a polymer banknote. It was first issued in 1983. The note originally had an image of Queen Elizabeth II on th ...

. With ''E. hochstetteris inclusion, this makes it the only banknote in the world which features a mushroom on it. In a 2018 poll, ''E. hochstetteri'' was ranked first by

Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute whose focus of research is the environment, biodiversity, and sustainability. History Manaaki Whenua was originally part of the Department of Scientific and Industr ...

for its pick as New Zealand's national fungus.

Taxonomy

The species was first described as ''Cortinarius hochstetteri'' in 1866 by the Austrian mycologist

Erwin Reichardt Erwin may refer to: People Given name * Erwin Chargaff (1905–2002), Austrian biochemist * Erwin Dold (1919–2012), German concentration camp commandant in World War 2 * Erwin Hauer (1926–2017), Austrian-born American sculptor * Egon Erwin Kisc ...

, before being given its current binomial in 1962 by

Greta Stevenson Greta Barbara Stevenson (10 June 1911 – 18 December 1990) was a New Zealand botanist and mycologist. She described many new species of Agaricales (gilled mushrooms). Background and education Stevenson was born in Auckland, New Zealand, the ol ...

. It is named after the German-Austrian naturalist Ferdinand von Hochstetter. In 1976 Egon Horak combined ''Entoloma hochstetteri'' and '' Entoloma aeruginosum'' from Japan with '' Entoloma virescens'', first described from the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic readi ...

in Japan. In 1989 S. Dhancholia recorded ''E. hochstetteri'' in India. In 1990

Tsuguo Hongo was a Japanese mycologist who specialized in the biogeography and taxonomy of Agaricales. Hongo entered the Department of Biology at what is now Hiroshima University in 1943, where he studied botany until graduating in 1946 with a B.Sc. Hongo ...

from Japan examined ''E. hochstetteri'' and ''E. aeruginosum'' and concluded that they were different taxa, because of difference in the size of the spores and the shape of the pseudocystidia. In 2008 Horak recognized ''E. hochstetteri'' as a different species from ''E. virescens'', while noting that "it is open to speculation" whether taxa such as ''E. virescens'' are the same species. A similar mushroom is found in Australia and mycologists differ as to whether it is ''E. hochstetteri'', ''E. virescens'' or a separate species.

Description

''Entoloma hochstetteri'' has a small delicate epigeous (above-ground)

(

basidiocarp In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not ...

). The cap may be up to 4 cm (1.4 in) in diameter and conical in shape. The cap colour is indigo-blue with a green tint, and is fibrillose. The cap margin is striate and rolled inwards. The gill attachment is

adnexed In mycology, a lamella, or gill, is a papery hymenophore rib under the cap of some mushroom species, most often agarics. The gills are used by the mushrooms as a means of spore dispersal, and are important for species identification. The atta ...

emarginate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

, gills are thin and 3–5 mm wide, essentially the same colour as the cap, sometimes with a yellow tint. The cylindrical stipe (stalk) is up to 5 cm (2 in) long by 0.5 cm thick, fibrillose and stuffed. The spore print is reddish-pink. The

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

s are 9.9–13.2 by 11.8–13.2

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

, tetrahedric in shape,

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, smooth and thin-walled. The basidia are 35.2–44.2 by 8.8–13.2 µm, club-shaped,

, and with two or four sterigmata.Dhancholia S. (1989).
''Entoloma hochstetteri'' (Agaricales) - a new record from India
''Current Science'' 58 (3): 146–7.

Mythology

The

Ngāi Tūhoe Ngāi Tūhoe (), often known simply as Tūhoe, is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. ''Tūhoe'' is a Māori-language word meaning "steep" or "high noon". Tūhoe people also bear the sobriquet ...

describe that the

Kōkako Kōkako (''Callaeas'') are two species of endangered forest birds which are endemic to New Zealand, the North Island kōkako (''Callaeas wilsoni'') and the presumably extinct South Island kōkako (''Callaeas cinereus''). They are both slate-gre ...

bird (''Callaeas wilsoni'') got its blue wattles from it rubbing its cheek against the mushroom. Thus giving the mushroom the title of ''werewere-kōkako''.

Habitat and distribution

''Entoloma hochstetteri'' is common in forests throughout

, where it grows on soil among litter in broadleaf/ podocarp forest. It fruits in January to July. It was also reported from India in 1989 and from Australia, though it is unclear whether these are the same species or whether ''E. hochstetteri'' is endemic to New Zealand. Attempts of lab cultivation of ''Entoloma hochstetteri'' have been made, to no avail.

Toxicity

Although many members of the genus '' Entoloma'' are poisonous, the toxicity of this species is unknown. It is being investigated to see if its gene cluster that is responsible for blue colouring might be used to manufacture a natural blue food dye.

References

External links

* *
More information from the Landcare Research NZFUNGI database
* ''Entoloma hochstetteri'' discussed on ''RNZ Critter of the Week''
2 December 2016
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2602685 Entolomataceae Fungi of New Zealand Fungi of India