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Satin plates (Coltricia australica)
Small polypores growing from soil; about 50mm tall and 40mm wide; dark scaly stipe; each had a tuft at it's centre like something had been torn off the top; cap highly textured with radial zonations, angular pores, and wine-glass shaped.
Growing among tough sword grasses in dry sclerophyll eucalyptus forest after some rains.
Until 2012 this was called Coltricia cinnamomea. Apparently mycorrhizal... these seemed spread all over the place but eucalypts were never more than 3 metres away.... "Coltricia cinnamomea is a wood rotting fungus and grows from decaying sub-surface wood and tree roots in forests and woodland in a variety of soil and climates. Besides Australia, this small polypore is found in North America... http://australianfungi.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/49-coltricia-cinnamomea.html
Name change in progress as Australian version has unique DNA.
A little vase-shaped polypore, recognized by its silky, cinnamon cap. It is frequently found in moss along trails. When fresh, the cap surface has a sheen and is delicately zoned with concentric bands of cinnamon brown. The flesh is tough and leathery, and when sliced open is rusty brown or even orange.
