Sclerodermataceae
Encyclopedia
The Sclerodermataceae are a family
of fungi in the order Boletales
, containing several genera of unusual fungi that little resemble bolete
s. Taxa, which include species commonly known as the ‘hard-skinned puffball
s’, ‘earthballs’, or 'earthstars', are widespread in both temperate
and tropical regions. The best known members include the earthball Scleroderma citrinum
, the dye fungus Pisolithus tinctorius
and the 'prettymouths' of the genus Calostoma
.
. The gleba typically has sharply defined basidia-bearing sectors, which are partitioned from one another by sterile veins, and in which the basidia are regularly scattered through the tissue. The gleba, which is brown or white in young specimens, turns dark purple to brownish purple in age, and crumbles to a powder of spores and disintegrating tissues at maturity. The basidia are roughly clavate (club-shaped). Spores are brown, roughly spherical in shape, thick-walled, with spines or warts, or with a network-like appearance. Spores are spread by wind, by predators, or are washed into the soil by rainwater.
The genera Pisolithus
and Scleroderma
are known to be ectomycorrhizal, while Calostoma
is suspected to be.
), Calostomataceae (Calostoma
), and the new families Gyroporaceae (Gyroporus
) and Boletinellaceae
(Boletinellus
and Phlebopus
), should form a new suborder, the Sclerodermatineae.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of fungi in the order Boletales
Boletales
The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes, containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes...
, containing several genera of unusual fungi that little resemble bolete
Bolete
A bolete is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus that is clearly differentiated from the stipe, with a spongy surface of pores on the underside of the pileus...
s. Taxa, which include species commonly known as the ‘hard-skinned puffball
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...
s’, ‘earthballs’, or 'earthstars', are widespread in both temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
and tropical regions. The best known members include the earthball Scleroderma citrinum
Scleroderma citrinum
Scleroderma citrinum, commonly known as the common earthball, pigskin poison puffball, or common earth ball, is the most common species of earthball in the UK and occurs widely in woods, heathland and in short grass from Autumn to Winter.Scleroderma citrinum has two synonyms, Scleroderma aurantium ...
, the dye fungus Pisolithus tinctorius
Pisolithus tinctorius
Known in Australia as the horse dung fungus and in Europe as the Bohemian truffle, Pisolithus tinctorius is a widespread earth-ball like fungus, which may in fact be several closely related species....
and the 'prettymouths' of the genus Calostoma
Calostoma
Calostoma is a genus of 29 species in the Sclerodermataceae family of fungi. Like the other Sclerodermatacae species, Calostoma do not have the spore discharge mechanism associated with typical gilled fungi , and instead have enclosed spore-bearing structures...
.
Description
Fruit-bodies are mostly epigenous (above ground), rarely hypogeous (underground), more or less spherical in shape, without a stem or with an irregular root-like stem. The peridium (outer wall) is mostly simple, rarely 2-layered, firm, rarely thin, membranous, breaking open irregularly or in lobes or decaying, revealing the glebaGleba
Gleba is the fleshy spore-bearing inner mass of fungi such as the puffball or stinkhorn.The gleba is a solid mass of spores, generated within an enclosed area within the sporocarp. The continuous maturity of the sporogenous cells leave the spores behind as a powdery mass that can be easily blown away...
. The gleba typically has sharply defined basidia-bearing sectors, which are partitioned from one another by sterile veins, and in which the basidia are regularly scattered through the tissue. The gleba, which is brown or white in young specimens, turns dark purple to brownish purple in age, and crumbles to a powder of spores and disintegrating tissues at maturity. The basidia are roughly clavate (club-shaped). Spores are brown, roughly spherical in shape, thick-walled, with spines or warts, or with a network-like appearance. Spores are spread by wind, by predators, or are washed into the soil by rainwater.
Habitat
Taxa are found growing on the ground or associated with rotten wood, and are mostly ectomycorrhizal with woody plants.Genera
- CalostomaCalostomaCalostoma is a genus of 29 species in the Sclerodermataceae family of fungi. Like the other Sclerodermatacae species, Calostoma do not have the spore discharge mechanism associated with typical gilled fungi , and instead have enclosed spore-bearing structures...
- "prettymouths" - ChlorogasterChlorogasterChlorogaster is a genus of fungi within the Sclerodermataceae family. A monotypic genus, it contains the single species Chlorogaster dipterocarpi.-External links:*...
- FavilleaFavilleaFavillea is a genus of fungi within the Sclerodermataceae family.-External links:*...
- HorakiellaHorakiellaHorakiella is a genus of fungi within the Sclerodermataceae family. A monotypic genus, it contains the single species Horakiella clelandii.-External links:*...
- MyriostomaMyriostomaMyriostoma is a genus of fungus in the family Geastraceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single species Myriostoma coliforme. It is an earthstar, so named because outer wall of the spore-bearing body splits open into the shape of a star...
- "earthstars" with multiple perforations in the spore sac - PisolithusPisolithusPisolithus is a genus of fungi within the Sclerodermataceae family . The type species, P. arenarius, is now known to be synonymous with P. arhizus.-Species:*Pisolithus abditus*Pisolithus albus...
- including P. tinctorius (dyemaker's puffball) - SclerodermaScleroderma (genus)Scleroderma is a genus of fungi, commonly known as earth balls, now known to belong to the Boletales order, in suborder Sclerodermatineae.. The best known species are S. citrinum and S. verrucosum...
- "earthballs"
The genera Pisolithus
Pisolithus
Pisolithus is a genus of fungi within the Sclerodermataceae family . The type species, P. arenarius, is now known to be synonymous with P. arhizus.-Species:*Pisolithus abditus*Pisolithus albus...
and Scleroderma
Scleroderma
Systemic sclerosis or systemic scleroderma is a systemic autoimmune disease or systemic connective tissue disease that is a subtype of scleroderma.-Skin symptoms:...
are known to be ectomycorrhizal, while Calostoma
Calostoma
Calostoma is a genus of 29 species in the Sclerodermataceae family of fungi. Like the other Sclerodermatacae species, Calostoma do not have the spore discharge mechanism associated with typical gilled fungi , and instead have enclosed spore-bearing structures...
is suspected to be.
Taxonomy
Phylogenetic analysis places the Sclerodermataceae in the bolete clade. Older analysis suggests that the Sclerodermataceae (including the genera Scleroderma and Veligaster), the Pisolithaceae (Pisolithus), the Astraeaceae (AstraeusAstraeus (genus)
Astraeus is a genus of fungi in the Diplocystaceae family. The genus, which has a cosmopolitan distribution, contains five species of earthstar mushrooms. They are distinguished by the outer layer of flesh that at maturity splits open in a star-shape manner to reveal a round spore sac...
), Calostomataceae (Calostoma
Calostoma
Calostoma is a genus of 29 species in the Sclerodermataceae family of fungi. Like the other Sclerodermatacae species, Calostoma do not have the spore discharge mechanism associated with typical gilled fungi , and instead have enclosed spore-bearing structures...
), and the new families Gyroporaceae (Gyroporus
Gyroporus
The Gyroporaceae are a family of fungi in the order Boletales. The family is monotypic, containing the single genus Gyroporus, which, according to a 2008 estimate, contains ten widely distributed species....
) and Boletinellaceae
Boletinellaceae
Boletinellaceae are a small family of mushrooms, primarily characterized by small pores on the underside of the mushroom rather than gills. Though in the order Boletales, new research shows they and Gyroporaceae are more closely related to earthballs of Sclerodermataceae than Boletaceae.Genera...
(Boletinellus
Boletinellus
Boletinellus is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae . The genus was first described by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill in 1909....
and Phlebopus
Phlebopus
Phlebopus is a genus of fungi in the family Boletinellaceae . The genus has a widespread distribution in subtropical and pantropical regions, and contains 12 species. The species are saprobic, with some possibly able to form mycorrhizae with exotic trees in certain conditions...
), should form a new suborder, the Sclerodermatineae.