66 Transactions. 



Mushrooms. 



One of my informants said, " One of the raids made by the southern 

 Maori northward is called Kai-whareatua. It is not the name of a fight 

 but of a war expedition, and Tare Wetere te Kahu was in it. The 

 Southerners had gone up to fight the North-Islanders and were returning, 

 when they ran ashore, and were wrecked at the mouth of the Rakitata 

 River. In the capsize all the food was lost, and the party found mush- 

 rooms and ate them. Hence the origin of the name Kai-whareatua (eat 

 mushrooms). The word ivhareatua means a 'devil house' and that is the 

 old Maori name of the mushroom." Another old man remarked, " Tare 

 Wetere was in the Taua-iti raid on Te Rauparaha, but I do not think he was 

 at the Kai-whareatua raid, as, according to my information, it was before 

 his time." This opens up the interesting question. Were mushrooms indi- 

 genous or introduced ? I consulted a lot of New Zealand works without 

 result, and I asked old settlers. One says that probably mushrooms were 

 native, as they were to be found in the early days among the tussocks in 

 the backblocks, but others consider that they will not grow without horse- 

 manure. This beUef Chambers's Encyclo'paedia classes as unreliable, and 

 says that mushrooms were found growing over nearly all the world, a very 

 fine edible variety being native to Victoria, Australia. If this be so, why 

 not in' New Zealand ? It is said that although the North Island Maori 

 have plenty of names for fungi growing on trees they have none for field 

 fungi — at least, so I understand. I therefore interrogated my aged Maori 

 friends in the South, with the following results : — 



" Yes, there were mushrooms, but I forget their names." 



" The name of the mushroom was whareahca, but I cannot say if they 

 were here before the pakeha came." 



" Mushrooms were not here all the' time. You could see them only 

 in their season. Their Maori name was wliareatua." 



" There were three kinds of mushrooms. One was very small and thin 

 in the bush and was called harore, and the others were called whareatua 

 and were aU sizes up to almost as big as a hat. One of these kinds was 

 good to eat. Another thing like mushrooms was called weho, and was 

 also good to eat. They all belonged to the ground. The Waitaha people 

 brought fern-trees and fern-roots to eat, but no one brought the mushrooms. 

 Another thing to eat came out of the ground after thunderstorms. It 

 was called poketara. You would come out in the morning and see it. 

 It was a round-like ball, and sometimes almost as big as a small football. 

 It was wonderful how it grew so quickly. It had to be eaten at once — 

 after a day it was no good. It could be cooked on the fire and tasted like 

 a nmshroom." 



" The whareatua was a nmshroom on a long stalk and with a deep body. 

 I am not sure if it was here before the white people. The poketara was 

 a big, round thing, a sort of mushroom, but it had no opening ; it was all 

 covered. It lasted only a short time, and then it would go into dust. 

 I do not know the history of the raid known as Kai-whareatua." 



" Whareatua was the name of the mushroom. I do not know who 

 brought them to New Zealand, but they were all over the country* They • 

 were like an umbrella in shape, but in late years I have seen what is a' new 

 sort to me, with thick stems and bunched tops, and for which I know no 

 name. It is said the poketara comes down in thunderstorms. It has 

 no opening at all, and is white and round. When it becomes old the stuff 

 inside turns into a powder and blows away. It sometimes grows as big 



