While walking through the bush in Wainuiomata, I came across this striking purple fungus growing on the forest floor. After some research, its unusual colour and rounded, pouch-like shape suggested that it belongs to a group of native fungi commonly known as purple pouch fungi, most likely a type of purple pouch fungus (Cortinarius porphyroideus)..
These fungi are associated with native beech forests, where they form underground relationships with the roots of trees. What makes this find interesting is that fungi once identified as Cortinarius porphyroideus are now known to include several closely related species that can be difficult to tell apart by appearance alone.
True Cortinarius porphyroideus appears to be uncommon and can be difficult to distinguish by appearance alone. Confirmed records of true C. porphyroideus are limited to a small number of locations in the Wellington region. A specimen was also collected near the Whakanui Track in Wainuiomata in 1978, although that identification has since been marked as needing confirmation.
I contacted Jerry Cooper, a senior researcher at Landcare Research, and he wrote: “Microscopy can distinguish some of the 6 candidates. Two of them require sequence evidence”.
So without microscopic examination or DNA testing, it is not possible to say with certainty which species this Wainuiomata specimen represents. However, its appearance and location particularly to the Whakanui Track, make it an interesting find, with the possibility that it belongs to one of New Zealand’s relatively uncommon purple pouch fungi.
A Second Wainuiomata Specimen
Another specimen was found on 18 May 2026, between the slope above Nikau Creek and the East Whakanui Track. Although it looked somewhat different from the first specimen, it appears likely to belong to the same group of purple pouch fungi.
This specimen was older and more deteriorated, with much of its centre exposed, which may explain the difference in appearance. Purple pouch fungi can change considerably as they age, become damaged or are eaten by insects and other small animals.
It is not possible to confirm from photographs alone whether the two specimens are exactly the same species. However, both appear consistent with the Cortinarius porphyroideus group, making the May discovery another interesting record of these potentially uncommon native fungi in the Wainuiomata bush.
