The astronomer of the forest floor, defined by a shape that looks like something from outer space. When it is young, the earthstar is a small, onion-shaped ball, pale brown to greyish-brown, buried in the leaf litter. You could walk right past it and never notice. But when it matures, the outer layer splits into four to eight pointed rays that curl back, lifting the central spore sac off the ground like a star. The rays are tough and leathery, often curled under at the tips, and they give the fungus its common name. The central spore sac is a round, papery ball, pale brown to greyish-brown, with a small, raised opening at the top. When a raindrop hits the sac, the air inside is compressed, forcing a puff of spores out through the opening like a tiny smoke signal. It is the fungus equivalent of a cannon, powered by rain. A saprotroph, feeding on decaying organic matter in the soil. The earthstar is a common resident of forests, woodlands, and gardens, often found on banks and slopes where the ground is well-drained. The star-shaped opening is an adaptation for spore dispersal, lifting the spore sac up where it is more likely to be hit by raindrops and where the spores can be carried further by the wind. Not edible. The earthstar is tough and leathery, with no culinary value. But its beauty is in its strangeness, its unexpected geometry. It is a fungus that looks like it belongs on a coral reef or in a science fiction movie, not on the floor of a New Zealand forest. To find an earthstar is to find a moment of wonder in the bush. It is not rare, but it is always a surprise, a reminder that the forest is full of things that do not fit neatly into categories, that defy expectation.