Harore

What it is

Harore is the Maori name for Armillaria novae-zelandiae, a honey fungus that grows in clusters on wood. Its English name in New Zealand sources is the honey mushroom. It is a wood-decaying fungus, and the Landcare Research record says it feeds on wood and forms its mushrooms on fallen timber such as tawa and tawai, or at the base of dead trees.

Honey fungi in general are known for their rhizomorphs, dark cord-like growths that run through soil and wood and let the fungus spread from one stump or root to another. The rhizomorphs are a structural feature of the genus and are not a food. The part people gather is the cap and stem cluster.

Food use and the Tuhoe record

The catalogue records harore as food for Tuhoe, a Maori iwi of the Te Urewera region, and describes it as part of an indigenous mushroom tradition. The Landcare Research name record also says it was recorded as eaten by Tuhoe. Wikipedia describes harore as a traditional food and reports that Tuhoe still gather it in Te Urewera.

The sources give no detailed method beyond cooking. They do not record a seasonal calendar for gathering or a specific dish. Autumn is when the mushroom appears in the forest, and Matauranga Maori reads its appearance as a sign for the coming season. Different regional traditions read the sign differently, as a good fishing season or as a warning of scarcity, so that reading should be treated as local knowledge rather than a fixed rule.

Cooking and safety

The most consistent advice in the sources is to cook the mushroom thoroughly before eating it. Wikipedia states that it is safe to eat when cooked well, and the same account notes that raw harore should not be eaten. The catalogue and the Landcare record do not give a cooking time, a temperature or a preparation method, and this page does not supply one.

Look-alikes matter. The Science Learning Hub notes that other New Zealand Armillaria species, such as A. limonea, are bitter and not considered edible, and that Maori have no known distinct names for them. A bitter taste is therefore not a reliable test, and a gatherer cannot rely on the name alone. Identification of wild fungi should be checked with a qualified source before anyone eats them, and this page is not an identification guide.

Ecology and conservation context

Harore is a natural part of native forest ecosystems. A 2021 University of Canterbury project found it grows strongly on live pine wood, where it is regarded as a destructive pest in plantations. Its place in forest ecology is therefore different in native and planted stands, and the same species can be a food source in one place and a problem in another.

Its wild status matters for use. The catalogue records supply as wild only, so no cultivated or market supply is recorded for this species.

Notes

The full set of Tuhoe names and preparations, the seasonal calendar and any chemical or nutritional data for this species are not known.