Appearance
It begins as a partly buried whitish egg-shaped structure 3 cm in diameter, which bursts open as a hollow white stalk with reddish arms erupts and grows to a height of 10 cm.It matures into a reddish star-shaped structure with six to ten arms up to 3.5 cm long radiating from the central area. These arms are bifid. The top of the fungus is covered with dark olive-brown slime or gleba, which smells of rotting meat. There is a cup-shaped volva at the base that is the remnants of the original egg.
Distribution
This fairly common fungus is widely distributed in Australia from southeastern Queensland through New South Wales and eastern Victoria and Tasmania. It is also found across the islands in the Pacific Ocean, including New Zealand. A saprotroph, it is found on decomposing plant matter as well as on woodchips and mulch and is common in gardens and amenities plantings. It also occurs in alpine grasslands and woodlands.References:
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