I live in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand and some months ago, walking the dogs in a public park, I came across an unusual Amanita. The New Zealand National Herbarium were very interested as was the American expert, Rod Tulloss. It was given a name as Amanita sp.2 and had been recorded in New Zealand only once before growing under Lawson's Cypress in a park in Auckland some 20 years ago. The write-up on that early sighting suggests that it is possibly not a NZ native because it was growing in association with an American tree and it was presumed to have been introduced with imported ornamental conifers. My specimen once again was not growing in the NZ bush, but in a park. However it was growing under a NZ native conifer (Podocarpus totara). Dr. Rodham Tulloss, the world expert on Amanitas, has no records of it outside these 2 sightings, yet it is a large, bold and totally distinctive fungus with a protruding nipple like cylinder on its umbo. Dr Tulloss and I refer to it as the Stovepipe amanita. New Zealand is infested with avid trampers, amateur naturalists, fungal foragers and photographers, yet this fungus has never been sighted in the native bush. So, my challenge to thew orldwide mycological community is to find out its real home. Two sightings in city parks in 20 years does not I feel give it New Zealand citizenship.
I look forward to hearing an ID on this - what a very differently shaped Amanita! (I'm told "bump"ing is sometimes bad netiquette, but I'm hoping since it's not my post, that it is acceptable? My apologies if not.) -frog