SPORANGIA: Stalked, loosely clustered, total height 2-4 mm. Sporotheca globose to cylindrical-ovate, 0.5-1.0 mm in diameter.
STALK: cylindrical or subulate, black, 1-3 mm long
PERIDIUM: shining, steel blue with grey or green iridescence, membranous, persistent.
HYPOTHALLUS: discoid, dark brown.
COLUMELLA: cylindrical, obtuse, reaching to about one-half the height of the sporotheca.
CAPILLITIUM: arising mainly from apex of columella, stout, sparingly forked and anastomosing, purplish brown, slender and colourless at the tips.
NOTES:This species appears to be rare in most regions of the world but can be relatively common in some areas of Fiordland in late autumn. The large spores with long spines are distinctive.
SPORES: dark grey or brownish grey, with prominent long black spines, 15-20 µm in diameter.
PLASMODIUM: opaque white.
HABITAT: decaying wood, often with bryophytes present.
DISTRIBUTION: Cosmopolitan, known from Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Fiordland and Dunedin.
