Fungi play critical roles in ecosystem function and are essential for the growth and health of all land plants. They play important roles as decomposers and re-cyclers of nutrients, as mycorrhizal partners of plants, and as plant and animal pathogens. 

The Kingdom Fungi is the second most speciose group of documented organisms on the planet. In Aotearoa New Zealand it is estimated we have over 20,000 species but with less than half of the species formally described. In common with other organisms many of our fungal species are endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand.  

The majority of species form microscopic fruitbodies but the group also includes large mushrooms and bracket fungi. The visible fruitbodies of fungi vary enormously in size, and are noticeable only sporadically, but they are all produced from extensive and persistent colonies of microscopic fungal hyphae in soil, wood etc.  

Even though many species produce millions of spores dispersed by wind they are not ubiquitous across the landscape. Many factors influence when and where they can survive. Like all other organisms existing fungal colonies are subject to the pressures of land-use change, pollution, invasive species, and climate change.  

Otago is a national stronghold for Deconica baylisiana, the alpine pouch, Aotearoa New Zealand’s only National Critical fungus.

To raise awareness of Deconica baylisiana, and fungal species generally, we worked with Tūhura Otago Museum and mycologist Jerry Cooper from Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research to produce an infographic factsheet. This resource provides information on how to identify Deconica baylisiana, where they are found, how they are thought to disperse, and their conservation status.  

A regional conservation status for selected species of mushroom fungi (non-lichenised agarics, boletes and russuloid fungi) was completed in 2024. We developed a general process for assessing the threat of extinction of fungal taxa at the regional level, identifying a total of 331 from the national checklist in Otago. Nine fungal taxa were regionally assessed as Threatened (1 = Regionally Critical; 8 = Regionally Vulnerable), 203 as Not Threatened, and 119 as Data Deficient.  More information on this can be found in the regional threat assessment.