P OUCH

The interesting thing about this " Scarlet Pouch " is that it looks very much like the fruit of the tree it grows under - the Miro. Its hard to tell the difference between the fungi and the fruit.

One gets fooled looking around amongst the undergrowth. The fruit of the tree are eaten by the native birds - particularly the wood Pigeon, who knock the skins to the ground. I feel sure there is a link between the likeness of the fruit and this fungi? - I cant work it out - I may sound thick but I cant think for the life of me why the birds would even think about eating the fungi - and yet why are they so much alike ?

The genus name is 'Weraroa erythrocephala' the first word is the name of a place in the North Island of NZ. ( for what its worth ?)

rgds