Geastraceae
Encyclopedia
The earthstars are the family
Geastraceae of gasterocarpic basidiomycetes
(mushrooms). It includes the genera
Geastrum and Myriostoma. About sixty-four species are classified
in this family, divided among eight genera.
Older classifications place this family in the order Lycoperdales
, but more recently they have been placed in Phallales
. As of 2010, the family is classified as the sole taxon
in the Geastrales
order.
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
es and may throw black, spore-containing globs onto nearby painted surfaces.
The fruit bodies
of several earthstars are hygroscopic: in dry weather the "petals" will dry and curl up around the soft spore sac, protecting it. In this state, often the whole fungus becomes detached from the ground and may roll around as a tumbleweed
does. When the weather dampens the "petals" moisten and uncurl and some even curl backward lifting the spore sac up. This then allows rain or animal movement to hit the spore sac so that it will puff out spore
s when there is enough moisture for them to germinate.
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...
Geastraceae of gasterocarpic basidiomycetes
Basidiomycota
Basidiomycota is one of two large phyla that, together with the Ascomycota, comprise the subkingdom Dikarya within the Kingdom Fungi...
(mushrooms). It includes the genera
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
Geastrum and Myriostoma. About sixty-four species are classified
Biological classification
Biological classification, or scientific classification in biology, is a method to group and categorize organisms by biological type, such as genus or species. Biological classification is part of scientific taxonomy....
in this family, divided among eight genera.
Older classifications place this family in the 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...
, 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. The order contains two families, the Claustulaceae and the Phallaceae, which collectively contain 26 genera and 88 species.-External links:...
. As of 2010, the family is classified as the sole taxon
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
in the Geastrales
Geastrales
Geastrales is an order of gasterocarpic basidiomycetes that relates to Cantharellales. It includes the genera Geastrum and Myriostoma.The common name is "earthstars."...
order.
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 to retain moisture, reduce erosion, provide nutrients, and suppress weed growth and seed germination. Mulching in gardens and landscaping mimics the leaf cover that is found on forest floors....
es and may throw black, spore-containing globs onto nearby painted surfaces.
The fruit bodies
Basidiocarp
In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome or basidioma , is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not produce such structures...
of several earthstars are hygroscopic: in dry weather the "petals" will dry and curl up around the soft spore sac, protecting it. In this state, often the whole fungus becomes detached from the ground and may roll around as a tumbleweed
Tumbleweed
A tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, disengages from the root and tumbles away in the wind. Usually, the tumbleweed is the entire plant apart from the roots, but in a few species it is a flower cluster. The tumbleweed habit is most common in steppe and desert...
does. When the weather dampens the "petals" moisten and uncurl and some even curl backward lifting the spore sac up. This then allows rain or animal movement to hit the spore sac so that it will puff out spore
Spore
In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...
s 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
- Hosaka, K., et al. (2006). "Molecular phylogenetics of the gomphoid-phalloid fungi with an establishment of the new subclass Phallomycetidae and two new orders". Mycologia 98: 955. doi:10.3852/mycologia.98.6.949