Phil Moore thought he saw a car's hub cap lying in the grass.
Instead it turned out to be a monster mushroom.
The brown and beige giant measured 24cm in diameter and was growing at a picnic spot in Tauranga.
The mushroom appeared to be a standard brown garden mushroom or flat version
of the commonly cooked portobello variety.
Mr Moore drove past it yesterday morning and at first thought it was a car's hub cap, so he stopped.
"I usually pick them [hub caps] up and lean them up against a pole, in case someone looks for them," he said.
As Mr Moore looked closer, he realised it was a mushroom - the largest he had seen.
Mr Moore won't reveal where he found the mushroom in case he finds other large ones there.
He believed the mushroom was safe to eat.
"I"m going to cook it up for lunch. I'll have some tomatoes, eggs, all the goodies with it," he said. "It's as big as a frying pan."
A search for record-breaking mushrooms failed to find any of the brown garden or portobello variety as large as Mr Moore's discovery.
But Mr Moore wanted to challenge anyone else who thought they could better his fungi find.
Anyone who believes they are able to can contact news@bayofplentytimes.co.nz
Fungi facts
Fun fungi Guinness World Records - but none for the largest
The title for largest collection of mushroom related items belongs to Shara Hoffman (USA), with 263 different mushroom-related items, which she has been collecting since 2000.
The most expensive fungus species goes to the white truffle, which fetches up to $3777 per kg.
A soup consisting of abalone, Japanese flower mushroom, sea cucumber, dried scallops and chicken is the most expensive soup in the world. It costs $222 from the Kai Mayfair restaurant in London.
