Cyclocybe parasitica

Tawaka

A New Zealand and Australian mushroom that grows in clusters on native and introduced hardwoods, where it can cause heart rot. It is edible with a meaty savoury taste, was used as medicine by Māori, who call it tawaka, and can be grown on inoculated logs.

Cyclocybe parasitica — Photo: mrutherford, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Very humid airBand in Plantistry

Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest period

Where it grows wild

It grows as a parasite and wood decayer on hardwoods such as tawa, hoheria, plagianthus, southern beech, birches and poplars, but not on conifers.

Records with an elevation range from 280 to 760 m, but most are lowland.

New ZealandAustralia

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 4.0 licence, unmodified.