#52 Battarrea stevenii

My first sighting of this fungus was filled with excitement and anticipation - had I found my first Tall Stiltball?  If so, why was the cap so odd, and where were the spores?  I solved the puzzle with the help of a fellow fungi enthusiast, and was over the moon to find another specimen with dome-shaped spore mass intact.

Battarrea stevenii [pronunciation: Bat-ta-rhea steven-ee-eye] is commonly called Tall Stiltball, for obvious reasons; when intact, it resembles a ball on top of a stilt. It is a stalked puffball.

Unfortunately I have not yet observed a fresh specimen.  The fruit body emerges from a round or oval egg-like structure up to 50mm in diameter, partly covered in sand.  This 'egg' splits to form a non-gelatinous volva (a volva is typically a cup-like structure at the base of fungus fruit body stem).  The stem then emerges from the volva and grows, with the top of the 'egg' remaining on top of the stem, forming a cap or cover for the spore mass.  This cap will often be encrusted with sand.  In time, this cover will fall off exposing the spore mass.

The dry, scaly, woody stem can be up to 350mm high and 15mm diameter. The outer layer of the head of the fruiting body flakes off, and the inner layer falls away as one piece, to reveal a rusty-brown powdery dome of spores on top of disc-shaped apex of stem.

Battarrea stevenii is a dry country fungus, growing singly or in pairs on sandy soil with leaf litter.  It is a saprotrophic species (obtains nutrients from dead and decaying organic matter).

According to FungiMap, Battarrea stevenii is found in dry, semi-arid and  desert regions throughout Australia.  It is also found throughout North America, primarily in western regions; South America, Africa, Europe, and China.

Battarrea stevenii is inedible. 

Scaly stem, disc-shaped apex of stem, spores dispersed

Stem dry and woody, somewhat resembling Stringy-bark Eucalypt texture

Notice rusty coloured spores on the stem and ground

The three components: cap (cover of spore mass), spore mass, and stem

The underside of the cap that covered the spore mass

The top side of the cap (spores on my thumb)

Habitat of Battarrea stevenii - dry open woodland with leaf litter

My sightings of Battarrea stevenii

[This will be updated with new sightings]

Gibson Way through Macquarie Marshes, NW NSW - Jul 2010, Aug 2010

Nymagee, Western NSW - Sept 2012

A very tall specimen

#26 Laetiporus portentosus

The polypore fungus, Laetiporus portentosus, commonly called White Punk, forms large, thick brackets on living Eucalypts. It causes white heart-rot to the host tree. I have seen it adhered to both smooth and rough-barked Eucalypts.

Brackets can reportedly reach 350mm wide, but I have only seen them to about 150mm wide. The upper surface of the fungus has a slightly 'velvety' texture and can be off-white, beige, to a warm 'biscuit' brown colour.

Notice the pock-marked under-surface which is riddled with tiny larvae

The fertile under-surface is covered in very fine pores, and is pale yellow or white when fresh, aging to a dirty white. Certain insect larvae feed on the soft flesh of the White Punk fungus creating a maze of tunnels with the old fruiting body of the fungus resembling a sponge in appearance.

When I first saw the soft white spongy structure attached to the trunk of a eucalyptus tree, I questioned if it could be a lichen. The old grey fruit bodies riddled with tunnels will eventually fall from the tree, sometimes following rain when it would collect water and become heavy.

A close-up of the fine pore surface. I will replace this unsharp image with a clear one if I can get one. The White Punk fungi are often high on tree trunks making close-up images difficult to obtain.

Dry, smouldering brackets were reportedly used by Aborigines to transport fire. Aborigines had many uses for various fungi. Spore print is white, although I have not attempted to obtain a print.

Although my images do not portray an attractive fungus, I have seen images of new Laetiporus portentosus fungi that show a smooth, quite aesthetically pleasing cluster.

White Punk riddled with tunnels and holes

A close up of the soft-textured well-eaten White Punk

As the decayed fungus fruiting body ages further, it can become quite hard and brittle

My sightings of Laetiporus portentosus

[This will be updated with more sightings]

Hunter Valley, NSW - on scattered roadside Eucalypts - May, Jun.

Grampians National Park, Vic - on scattered roadside Eucalypts - Sep.

Weetabilla, NSW - on scattered roadside Eucalypts - Jul.