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Geastraceae

 
Geastraceae

 
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Geastraceae
 
 
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The earthstars are the family Geastraceae of gasterocarpic basidiomycetes
Basidiomycota

Basidiomycota is one of two large phylum that, together with the Ascomycota, comprise the subkingdom Dikarya within the Kingdom Fungi. More specifically the Basidiomycota include mushrooms, puffballs, stinkhorns, bracket fungi, other polypores, jelly fungi, boletes, cantharellus, Geastraceae, smut , common bunt, rust , mirror yeasts, and the...
 (mushrooms). It includes the genera Geastrum and Myriostoma. About 60 species are classified in this family, divided among 8 genera.

Older classifications place this family in the order Lycoperdales
Lycoperdales

The Lycoperdales are a now outdated order of fungus. The order included some well-known types such as the giant puffball, the geastraceaes, and other tuberous fungi....
, but more recently they have been placed in Phallales
Phallales

The Phallales are an Order of fungi that is more or less synonymous with the gomphoid-phalloid clade. At one time, the order was composed entirely of Stinkhorns , but has been expanded to include other families due to modern DNA analysis....
.

One member of this family, Sphaerobolus stellatus, is a nuisance organism in landscapes known as "shotgun fungus" or "cannonball fungus", which colonizes wood-based mulch
Mulch

In agriculture and gardening, is a protective cover placed over the soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local climate. A wide variety of nature and Synthetic fiber materials are used....
es and may throw black spore-containing globs onto nearby painted surfaces.

Many of these fungi behave in the following manner: In dry weather the "petals" will dry and curl up around the soft spore sac, protecting it.






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Encyclopedia


The earthstars are the family Geastraceae of gasterocarpic basidiomycetes
Basidiomycota

Basidiomycota is one of two large phylum that, together with the Ascomycota, comprise the subkingdom Dikarya within the Kingdom Fungi. More specifically the Basidiomycota include mushrooms, puffballs, stinkhorns, bracket fungi, other polypores, jelly fungi, boletes, cantharellus, Geastraceae, smut , common bunt, rust , mirror yeasts, and the...
 (mushrooms). It includes the genera Geastrum and Myriostoma. About 60 species are classified in this family, divided among 8 genera.

Older classifications place this family in the order Lycoperdales
Lycoperdales

The Lycoperdales are a now outdated order of fungus. The order included some well-known types such as the giant puffball, the geastraceaes, and other tuberous fungi....
, but more recently they have been placed in Phallales
Phallales

The Phallales are an Order of fungi that is more or less synonymous with the gomphoid-phalloid clade. At one time, the order was composed entirely of Stinkhorns , but has been expanded to include other families due to modern DNA analysis....
.

One member of this family, Sphaerobolus stellatus, is a nuisance organism in landscapes known as "shotgun fungus" or "cannonball fungus", which colonizes wood-based mulch
Mulch

In agriculture and gardening, is a protective cover placed over the soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local climate. A wide variety of nature and Synthetic fiber materials are used....
es and may throw black spore-containing globs onto nearby painted surfaces.

Many of these fungi behave in the following manner: In dry weather the "petals" will dry and curl up around the soft spore sac, protecting it. Often the whole fungus in this state becomes detached from the ground and can roll around like a tumbleweed
Tumbleweed

File:Tumbleweed 038 .jpgA tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, separates from the root and rotation in living systems away in the wind....
. When the weather dampens the "petals" moisten and uncurl and some even curl backwards lifting the spore sac up. Presumably this then allows rain or animal movement to hit the spore sac so that it will puff out spores when there is enough moisture for them to germinate.

Further reading

  • Alexopolous, C.J., Charles W. Mims, M. Blackwell et al., Introductory Mycology, 4th ed. (John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken NJ, 2004) ISBN 0-471-52229-5
  • Arora, David. (1986). "Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi". 2nd ed. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 0898151694