About Blue Pinkgill Mushroom:
- It is referred as “sky-blue mushroom,” (scientific name: Entoloma hochstetteri) this genus of mushrooms has pink to purplish hues in their gills.
- It is a species native to New Zealand and famously featured on the country’s $50 note.
- Appearance of Blue Pinkgill Mushroom:
- It is a vivid blue mushroom, its colour derived from rare azulene pigments.
- Some are small, with a distinctive all-blue colour and slightly reddish-tinted gills from spores, thanks to azulene pigments.
- They have caps that can be flat or funnel-shaped, pink or white gills and stems that may be centrally or laterally attached.
- The spore print is typically pink to salmon-coloured, which helps in identification.
- Habitat: It is common in forests across New Zealand, where it grows in the ground between litter in the broadleaf forest.
- The Blue Pinkgill mushroom appears during the monsoon when the forest cover reaches saturation due to abundant rainfall, which creates perfect soil conditions for mushrooms to grow and thrive.
