Winter Walks in the Bush - flowers and fungi

On a cold, wet winter's day sometimes the last thing I want to do is go outside. But I know that if I put on my raincoat, beanie, and boots and head into the bush, I'll find all sorts of winter treasures. The tall trees give a bit of protection from the rain, but I know if I lean against one or give it a bit of a shake, it'll drip raindrops all over me! In winter, look closely at the ground and you might see some real surprises, like these tiny greenhood orchids which flower in winter - yes those are the flowers. They were gathered together on a bank by the path, and we nearly walked right past them.

Greenhood Orchids - Diplodium alobulum

Another thing to look out for in winter is fungi. Fungi come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and many different colours - purple, orange, pink and brown.

Some fungi is on the ground among the leaf litter.

Blue pinkgill - Entoloma hochstetteri

 Some fungi grows on live trees.

Artist's porebracket - Ganoderma applanatum

 And some fungi grows on rotting trees.

Orange poreconch - Favolaschia calocera

To identify your fungal finds, try the Landcare Fungi Identification site.

Or put photos of your observations on iNaturalistNZ, and see if someone else can identify them for you.