Lycoperdon
Encyclopedia
Lycoperdon is a genus of puffball
mushrooms. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 50 species. In general, it contains the smaller species such as the pear shaped puffball and the gem studded puffball. Most of the time they grow from dead wood and if they grow through the ground they usually indicate that wood is buried. It was formerly classified within the now-obsolete order Lycoperdales
, as the type genus which, following a restructuring of fungal taxonomy brought about by molecular phylogeny, has been split. Lycoperdon is now placed in the family Agaricaceae
of the order Agaricales
.
The name comes from lycos meaning wolf and perdon meaning to break wind; thus the name literally means wolf-farts.
Puffball
A puffball is a member of any of several groups of fungus in the division Basidiomycota. The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage. The distinguishing feature of all puffballs is...
mushrooms. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 50 species. In general, it contains the smaller species such as the pear shaped puffball and the gem studded puffball. Most of the time they grow from dead wood and if they grow through the ground they usually indicate that wood is buried. It was formerly classified within the now-obsolete order Lycoperdales
Lycoperdales
The Lycoperdales are a now outdated order of fungi. The order included some well-known types such as the giant puffball, the earthstars, and other tuberous fungi...
, as the type genus which, following a restructuring of fungal taxonomy brought about by molecular phylogeny, has been split. Lycoperdon is now placed in the family Agaricaceae
Agaricaceae
The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and includes the genus Agaricus, as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. The genus contains 85 genera and 1340 species.-Genera:...
of the order Agaricales
Agaricales
The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms , or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13000 described species, along with five extinct genera known only from the fossil record...
.
The name comes from lycos meaning wolf and perdon meaning to break wind; thus the name literally means wolf-farts.
Species
- Lycoperdon caudatum (Syn. Lycoperdon pedicellatum) J.Schröt.Joseph SchröterJoseph Schröter was a noted German mycologist, doctor and scientist. During his lifetime, he wrote several books and texts, and discovered and described many species of flora and fungi...
- Lycoperdon curtisiiLycoperdon curtisiiLycoperdon curtisii is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. It was first described scientifically in 1859 by Miles Joseph Berkeley. Vascellum curtisii, described by Hanns Kreisel in 1963, is a synonym....
- Lycoperdon echinatumLycoperdon echinatumLycoperdon echinatum, commonly known as the spiny puffball or the spring puffball, is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. The saprobic species has been found in Africa, Europe, Central America and North America, where it grows on soil in deciduous woods, glades, and pastures...
Pers. - Lycoperdon ericaceum (Syn. Lycoperdon muscorum)
- Lycoperdon ericaceum, var. subareolatum
- Lycoperdon lambinonii Demoulin 1972
- Lycoperdon lividum (Syn. Lycoperdon spadiceum) Pers. 1809
- Lycoperdon mammiformeLycoperdon mammiformeLycoperdon mammiforme is a rare, inedible type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon, found in beech woodlands on chalk.The fruiting body is spherical to pear shaped, at first pure white with slightly grainy inner skin and an outer skin which disintegrates in flakes that are soon shed,...
Pers. 1801 - Lycoperdon marginatum (Syn. Lycoperdon candidum) VittadiniCarlo VittadiniCarlo Vittadini was an Italian doctor and mycologist.- Life :He studied in Milan and at the University of Pavia, where he attended the classes given by Giuseppe L. Moretti...
- Lycoperdon molleLycoperdon molleLycoperdon molle is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. It was first described scientifically in 1799 by Dutch mycologist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon....
- Lycoperdon nigrescensLycoperdon nigrescensLycoperdon nigrescens is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. It was first described scientifically in 1794 by the Swedish naturalist Göran Wahlenberg....
(Syn. Lycoperdon foetidum) Bonord - Lycoperdon norvegicum Demoulin 1971
- Lycoperdon ovoidisporum
- Lycoperdon perlatumLycoperdon perlatumLycoperdon perlatum, commonly known as the common puffball, warted puffball, gem-studded puffball or devil's snuff-box, is a species of puffball mushroom in the Agaricaceae family. A common species with a cosmopolitan distribution, it is a moderate-sized puffball with a round fruit body tapering to...
(Syn. Lycoperdon gemmatum) - Lycoperdon pyriforme Schaeff. ex Pers. (now Morganella pyriformisMorganella pyriformisLycoperdon pyriforme, commonly known as the pear-shaped puffball, is a saprobic fungus present throughout much of the world. Emerging in autumn, this puffball is common and abundant on decaying logs of both deciduous and coniferous wood...
) - Lycoperdon pulcherrimumLycoperdon pulcherrimumLycoperdon pulcherrimum is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. It was first described scientifically in 1873 by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis....
Berk. & M.A. Curtis - Lycoperdon umbrinumLycoperdon umbrinumLycoperdon umbrinum, commonly known as the umber-brown puffball, is a type of Puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. It is found in China,, Europe, and North America.-Description:...
External links
- Puffballs and their allies in Michigan by Alexander H. Smith, 1951. (Full text of monograph.)