Battarrea phalloides | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Agaricomycetes |
Order: | Agaricales |
Family: | Agaricaceae |
Genus: | Battarrea |
Species: | B. phalloides |
Binomial name | |
Battarrea phalloides | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Battarrea phalloides | |
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Glebal hymenium | |
Cap is conical | |
Hymenium attachment is not applicable | |
Stipe has a volva | |
Spore print is ochre | |
Ecology is saprotrophic | |
Edibility is inedible |
Battarrea phalloides [nb 1] is an inedible species of mushroom in the family Agaricaceae, [3] and the type species of the genus Battarrea . Known in the vernacular as the scaley-stalked puffball, sandy stiltball, or desert stalked puffball, it has a woody, slender, and shaggy or scaly stem that is typically up to 40 centimeters (15.7 in) in length. Although its general appearance resembles an agaric with stem and gills, atop the stem is a spore sac, consisting of a peridium and a powdery internal gleba. In maturity, the spore sac ruptures to release the spores. Battarrea phalloides is found in dry, sandy locations throughout the world, and has been collected from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America (primarily in western regions), and South America. There is currently some disagreement in the literature as to whether the European B. stevensii is the same species as B. phalloides.
The species was first mentioned in the scientific literature in 1784, when Thomas Jenkinson Woodward described a new species found by Mr. Humphreys of Norwich. [4] It was named by James Dickson in 1785 as Lycoperdon phalloides, and the type locality was Suffolk, England. [5] Christian Hendrik Persoon sanctioned the name when he transferred to Battarrea in his 1801 Synopsis Methodica Fungorum, [6] a newly circumscribed genus named after the Italian mycologist Giovanni Antonio Battarra. [7] Synonyms include Phallus campanulatus, published by Miles Berkeley in 1842 based on collections made by Charles Darwin in Maldonado (Uruguay) in 1833, [8] and Ithyphallus campanulatus, a new combination based on Berkeley's name, published by Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal in 1933. [1]
The specific epithet phalloides means phallus-like, and refers to the similarity of the volva to the genus Phallus . [9] Battarrea phalloides is commonly known as the "scaly-stalked puffball" [10] and the "sandy stiltball"; [11] a common name given to the species B. stevenii is the "desert drumstick". [12] In Cyprus, it is known locally as "Donkey fungus", a name that may be derived from the fact that the spores were once used as a natural antiseptic and antipruritic agent applied to the backs of donkeys, or for their morphological resemblance to the animal's penis. [13]
Historically, there has been uncertainty as to whether the European species known as Battarrea stevenii is a unique species or merely a polymorphic variant of B. phalloides. The taxon has been described as both a variety (as B. phalloides var. stevenii by Cleland and Cheel in 1916) [14] and as a form (as B. phalloides f. stevenii by Calonge in 2004). [15] In 1995, mycologist Roy Watling opined that B. stevenii differs in having spores that are colored more orange-tawny, slightly larger (5–6.5 by 5.75–7 μm, as opposed to 4.5–5.25 by 4.5–5.75 μm), and less ornamented. Further, B. stevenii is thought to have a larger fruit body size, a more coarsely scaly stipe, and lack of mucilage in the volva and the innermost parts of the stem. [7] The presence or absence of mucilage has been traditionally considered the significant characteristic separating the species. [16] In 1904, Lászlo Hollós proposed the idea of a single polymorphic species; [17] in 1942, Paul Marshall Rea, after studying 25 specimens from southern California, concluded that B. stevenii was conspecific with B. phalloides and represented a single species. [18] An analysis of a number of European specimens—using both macroscopic and microscopic characteristics in addition to molecular analysis of ITS regions of the 5.8S rDNA—also suggested both to be conspecific. The authors of this study considered the differences in spore ornamentation and stipe hyphae to be insufficient to discriminate them as two species; they did, however, note that their inability to locate the type material for both species limited the conclusiveness of their suggestion. [19] The conspecificity of the species was supported in a later study that used traditional and molecular methods to compare field-collected English specimens and an extensive range of herbarium material collected from around the world. They found that material labeled B. stevenii generally had a greater range of cap and stem sizes, while that labeled B. phalloides was generally more consistent, and smaller. However, the B. phalloides material they studied was generally from similar habitats in the UK, while the B. stevenii material originated from a wide variety of locales and habitats, suggesting that environmental factors influence fruit body morphology. Evidence pointing to conspecificity included the continuum of spore sizes between the two, and the lack of any significant differences between their DNA. [9] In 2006, however, based on a study of specimens collected in China, other scientists considered them to be independent species. [20]
Mature specimens of Battarrea phalloides roughly resemble the typical agaric mushroom stature of stem and cap. However, rather than a cap with gills, this species has a spore sac atop the stem. When young, the fruit body is roughly spherical and completely encased in an outer wall (exoperidium) that later splits in a circumscissile fashion (along a circular or equatorial line), the lower wall forming a volva and the upper part forming scales that cover the inner wall. The upper part rolls upward and backward and eventually falls away in one piece, exposing a spore sac lined with a narrow ring of capillitium and spores. [21] The spores are sticky. [10] As these are carried away by the wind, the drying action of the latter cause the edges of the peridium to shrivel and roll up more, exposing more spores. This is continued until the upper half of the peridium has shriveled and blown away and there remains only a few spores, which may be washed away by rain. [21]
The fruit body develops rapidly; [7] when mature, it is rust-colored, with a hemispherical to somewhat conical "head" 1 to 3 cm (0.4 to 1.2 in) in diameter, and with a stalk up to 40 cm (15.7 in) long by 0.4 to 1.5 cm (0.2 to 0.6 in) thick. [10]
One study reported a specimen found in Mexico with a length of 70 cm (27.6 in). [22] Typically, the spore case is 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2.0 in) broad by 1 to 3.5 cm (0.4 to 1.4 in) tall. [10] The hollow stalk is pale brown to brown, woody, and has a fibrous, scaly, or even woolly surface. [22] The mature gleba, which is eventually exposed when the peridial cap is shed, has a rust-brown color. The cap may persist after the spore mass is dispersed and form a disc-like unit that slides down the stalk like a ring. [10] The fragile sac-shaped volva is up to 15 by 13 cm (5.9 by 5.1 in) broad, unattached to the stalk, and formed by two distinct, separated tissue layers. The inner layer resembles the scales of the stem, consisting of hyphae that are 3–18 μm in diameter, closely arranged (nearly parallel), septate, sparsely branched, yellowish ochre, with clamps at some septa. The outer layer of fungal tissue is thicker, membranous, sometimes with a corky texture when dry, and dirty white. It consists of pale yellow intertwined hyphae that are difficult to distinguish individually, and without remains of a gelatinous matrix. Fruit bodies may persist for several months after they have dried. [23]
The thick-walled spores are roughly spherical, rusty-brown, finely and densely warted, and have diameters of 5–6.5 μm. Elaters are 50–80 by 4–6 μm, and have ring-like or spiral thickenings. [24] The endoperidium consists of densely interwoven hyphae that are 3–9 μm in diameter and walls less than 1 μm thick; they are septate, branched, pale yellow, with clamp connections.
The gleba is largely made up of two types of threads. The pseudocapillitium has hyphae up to 5 μm diameter, mostly thin walled, smooth, septate, sparsely branched, hyaline to pale yellow, with clamps. The elaters have diameters of 3.5–7 μm and are 32–70 μm long; they are pale yellow, smooth-walled, tapered and cylindrical with spiral thickenings. Glebal elaters are aseptate and not branched. [22]
Battarrea phalloides (as well as Battarrea stevenii) is inedible. [25] [10] In Cyprus, the immature egg-form of the fruit body is eaten. [26] Older specimens may smell unpleasant. [10] The spores of B. stevenii are used as a cicatrizant—a product that promotes healing through the formation of scar tissue–by the Criollo herdsmen of Gran Chaco in northern Argentina. [27]
The closely related species Battarrea diguettii is known in the United States from the Mojave Desert, and differs from B. phalloides in that the spore sac emerges by ripping through the top of the exoperidium, rather than by circumscissile rupture. The endoperidium of B. diguettii is also smaller, and the spores emerge through a number of pores on the upper surface of the spore sac. [23] Battarrea stevenii can grow taller, up to 70 centimeters (27.6 in). [25] Podaxis pistillaris , commonly known as the "desert shaggy mane", occurs in dry locales similar to B. phalloides, but can be distinguished by its shaggy, elongated cap. [26]
Battarrea phalloides may be found growing solitary to scattered on dry, sandy hedgebanks (raised or mounded boundary feature, often topped by a hedgerow), sometimes growing amongst elm suckers. It is a relatively rare species, but may be locally abundant in some locations. [10] [24] In Mexico, where it is only known from the north and central part of the country, [22] it has been usually collected in arid and semiarid areas, on coastal dunes, found from sea level up to 2,550 m (8,370 ft) high. The mushroom has been associated with the quick-growing evergreen tree Schinus molle , as well as Lycium brevipes , Solanum hindsianum , Salicornia subterminalis , Atriplex linearis , Quercus agrifolia and Opuntia species, in coastal dunes. [22] The largest fruit bodies were found on floodplains with halophilic (i.e., thriving in high-salt conditions) vegetation. [22] In Belgium, specimens were found on sandy soil under dead elderflower bushes. [28]
In North America, Battarrea phalloides has been collected from the Yukon Territory, [23] western Canada; [12] the US, where it is confined to the west— [10] Southern California, [18] New Mexico, [29] and Arizona— [30] Mexico, [31] and Hawaii. [32] It has also been reported growing in South America (Brazil), [33] Africa (Morocco), [34] Europe (Belgium and North Macedonia), [28] [35] China, [20] and Australia. [36] [37] Due to a decline in sightings, B. phalloides was granted legal protection in Hungary in 2005, making it a finable offense to pick them. [38] It received similar protected status in the United Kingdom in 1998. [39] [40]
The habitat and range of Battarrea stevenii include arid regions of the western and southwestern United States, [25] Australia, [37] South Africa, [41] and several European countries, [19] including Russia. [42]
Phallaceae is a family of fungi, commonly known as stinkhorns, within the order Phallales. Stinkhorns have a worldwide distribution, but are especially prevalent in tropical regions. They are known for their foul-smelling, sticky spore masses, or gleba, borne on the end of a stalk called the receptaculum. The characteristic fruiting-body structure, a single, unbranched receptaculum with an externally attached gleba on the upper part, distinguishes the Phallaceae from other families in the Phallales. The spore mass typically smells of carrion or dung, and attracts flies, beetles and other insects to help disperse the spores. Although there is great diversity in body structure shape among the various genera, all species in the Phallaceae begin their development as oval or round structures known as "eggs". The appearance of Phallaceae is often sudden, as gleba can erupt from the underground egg and burst open within an hour. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 21 genera and 77 species.
Phallus ravenelii, commonly known as Ravenel's stinkhorn, is a fungus in the Phallaceae (stinkhorn) family. It is found in eastern North America. Its mushrooms commonly grow in large clusters and are noted for their foul odor and phallic shape when mature. It is saprobic, and as such it is encountered in a wide variety of habitats rich in wood debris, from forests to mulched gardens or sawdust piles in urban areas. It appears from August to October. The fruit body emerges from a pink or lavender-colored egg to form a tall, cylindrical, hollow and spongy white stalk with a bell-shaped cap. The remains of the egg persist as a white to pink or lilac volva at the base of the stalk. The cap is covered in a foul-smelling olive-green spore slime, which attracts insects that help to spread the spores. Sometimes, the cap has a "veil" attached—a thin membrane that hangs underneath. The lack of a roughly ridged and pitted cap differentiates it from the closely related Phallus impudicus. The fungus is named after Henry William Ravenel, a botanist who first discovered it in 1846, though it remained undescribed until 1873. It is considered to be an edible mushroom while in its egg form.
Phallus rubicundus is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn family. First described in 1811, it has a wide distribution in tropical regions. It has the typical stinkhorn structure consisting of a spongy stalk up to 15 cm (5.9 in) tall arising from a gelatinous "egg" up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter. Atop the stalk is a pitted, conical cap that has a foul-smelling, gelatinous, green spore mass spread over it.
Lysurus periphragmoides, commonly known as the stalked lattice stinkhorn or chambered stinkhorn, is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn family. It was originally described as Simblum periphragmoides in 1831, and has been known as many different names before being transferred to Lysurus in 1980. The saprobic fungus has a pantropical distribution, and has been found in Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the Americas, where it grows on fertile ground and on mulch. The fruit body, which can extend up to 15 cm (5.9 in) tall, consists of a reddish latticed head placed on top of a long stalk. A dark olive-green spore mass, the gleba, fills the interior of the lattice and extends outwards between the arms. Like other members of the family Phallaceae, the gleba has a fetid odor that attracts flies and other insects to help disperse its spores. The immature "egg" form of the fungus is considered edible.
Pseudocolus fusiformis is a stinkhorn mushroom in the Phallaceae, a family well known for a remarkable range of fruit body types. It is commonly known as the stinky squid, because of its fetid odor, and its three or four upright "arms" which are connected at the top. The malodorous smell comes from the dark greenish slimy gleba covering the inside faces of the arms, and attracts insects that help to disperse the spores.
Geastrum pectinatum is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the earthstar family of fungi. Although young specimens are spherical, fruit body development involves the outer layer of tissue splitting open like a star into 7 to 10 pointed rays that eventually bend back to point downward, revealing a small – 1 to 2.5 cm broad – spore sac. The spore sac is supported by a small radially wrinkled stalk. There is a distinct conical opening (peristome) at the top of the spore sac that is up to 8 mm long. It is commonly known as the beaked earthstar or the beret earthstar, in reference to the shape of the spore sac and its prominent, protruding peristome. The mass of spores and surrounding cells within the sac, the gleba, is dark-brown, and becomes powdery in mature specimens. Spores are spherical, measuring 4 to 6 micrometers in diameter, with warts on their surfaces.
Astraeus hygrometricus, commonly known as the hygroscopic earthstar, the barometer earthstar, or the false earthstar, is a species of fungus in the family Diplocystaceae. Young specimens resemble a puffball when unopened. In maturity, the mushroom displays the characteristic earthstar shape that is a result of the outer layer of fruit body tissue splitting open in a star-like manner. The false earthstar is an ectomycorrhizal species that grows in association with various trees, especially in sandy soils. A. hygrometricus was previously thought to have a cosmopolitan distribution, though it is now thought to be restricted to Southern Europe, and Astraeus are common in temperate and tropical regions. Its common names refer to the fact that it is hygroscopic (water-absorbing) and can open up its rays to expose the spore sac in response to increased humidity, then close them up again in drier conditions. The rays have an irregularly cracked surface, while the spore case is pale brown and smooth with an irregular slit or tear at the top. The gleba is white initially, but turns brown and powdery when the spores mature. The spores are reddish-brown and roughly spherical with minute warts, measuring 7.5–11 micrometers in diameter.
Geastrum triplex is a fungus found in the detritus and leaf litter of hardwood forests around the world. It is commonly known as the collared earthstar, the saucered earthstar, or the triple earthstar—and less commonly by the alternative species name Geastrum indicum. It is the largest member of the genus Geastrum and expanded mature specimens can reach a tip-to-tip length of up to 12 centimeters.
Calbovista is a fungal genus containing the single species Calbovista subsculpta, commonly known as the sculptured puffball, sculptured giant puffball, and warted giant puffball. It is a common puffball of the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast ranges of western North America. The puffball is more or less round with a diameter of up to 15 cm (6 in), white becoming brownish in age, and covered with shallow pyramid-shaped plates or scales. It fruits singly or in groups along roads and in open woods at high elevations, from summer to autumn.
Amanita bisporigera is a deadly poisonous species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. It is commonly known as the eastern destroying angel amanita, the eastern North American destroying angel or just as the destroying angel, although the fungus shares this latter name with three other lethal white Amanita species, A. ocreata, A. verna and A. virosa. The mushroom has a smooth white cap that can reach up to 10 centimetres across and a stipe up to 14 cm tall with a white skirt-like ring near the top. The bulbous stipe base is covered with a membranous sac-like volva. The white gills are free from attachment to the stalk and crowded closely together. As the species name suggests, A. bisporigera typically bears two spores on the basidia, although this characteristic is not immutable. A. bisporigera closely resembles a few other white amanitas, including the equally deadly A. virosa and A. verna.
Agaricus deserticola, commonly known as the gasteroid agaricus, is a species of fungus in the family Agaricaceae. Found only in southwestern and western North America, A. deserticola is adapted for growth in dry or semi-arid habitats. The fruit bodies are secotioid, meaning the spores are not forcibly discharged, and the cap does not fully expand. Unlike other Agaricus species, A. deserticola does not develop true gills, but rather a convoluted and networked system of spore-producing tissue called a gleba. When the partial veil breaks or pulls away from the stem or the cap splits radially, the blackish-brown gleba is exposed, which allows the spores to be dispersed.
Amanita exitialis, also known as the Guangzhou destroying angel, is a mushroom of the large genus Amanita. It is distributed in eastern Asia, and probably also in India where it has been misidentified as A. verna. Deadly poisonous, it is a member of section Phalloideae and related to the death cap A. phalloides. The fruit bodies (mushrooms) are white, small to medium-sized with caps up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter, a somewhat friable ring and a firm volva. Unlike most agaric mushrooms which typically have four-spored basidia, the basidia of A. exitialis are almost entirely two-spored. Eight people were fatally poisoned in China after consuming the mushroom in 2000, and another 20 have been fatally poisoned since that incident. Molecular analysis shows that the species has a close phylogenetic relationship with three other toxic white Amanitas: A. subjunquillea var. alba, A. virosa and A. bisporigera.
Amanita atkinsoniana, also known as the Atkinson's amanita, is a species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. The fruit body is white to brownish, with caps up to 12.5 centimetres in diameter, and stems up to 20 cm long. The surface of the cap is covered with brownish conical warts.
Geastrum quadrifidum, commonly known as the rayed earthstar or four-footed earthstar, is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the genus Geastrum, or earthstar fungi. First described scientifically by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1794, G. quadrifidum is a cosmopolitan—but not common—species of Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. The fungus is a saprobe, feeding off decomposing organic matter present in the soil and litter of coniferous forests.
Geastrum welwitschii is a species of fungus in the earthstar family. First collected from Spain in the mid-19th century, the fungus is distributed in Europe, North America, and Bermuda.
Myriostoma coliforme, commonly known as the saltshaker earthstar or pepper pot, is a fungal species in the family Geastraceae. Basidiocarps resemble earthstars, but the spore sac is supported by multiple columns and has multiple ostioles instead of a single, apical ostiole. It has also been called "salt-shaker earthstar". The fungus has a north temperate distribution, but was formerly thought to be more widespread due to confusion with related Myriostoma species. Myriostoma coliforme is an uncommon species and appears on the Red Lists of 12 European countries. In 2004 it was one of 33 species proposed for protection under the Bern Convention by the European Council for Conservation of Fungi.
Staheliomyces is a fungal genus in the stinkhorn family. The genus was considered monotypic for over 100 years, containing the single neotropical species Staheliomyces cinctus, until a 2022 study revealed four additional, cryptic species. Members are colloquially known as the strangled stinkhorns. The genus is found in Central America and northern South America. The fruit body of the fungus is a hollow, whitish, cylindric stalk up to 16 cm (6.3 in) tall, with conspicuous pits and holes. Near the top of the stalk is a pinched-off zone covered with unpleasant-smelling slimy spore mass called gleba. The gleba attracts stingless bees that help disseminate the spores.
Volvariella bombycina, commonly known as the silky volvariella, silky sheath, silky rosegill, silver-silk straw mushroom, or tree mushroom, is a species of edible mushroom in the family Pluteaceae. It is an uncommon but widespread species, having been reported from Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. The fruit body (mushroom) begins developing in a thin, egg-like sac. This ruptures and the stem expands quickly, leaving the sac at the base of the stem as a volva. The cap, which can attain a diameter of up to 20 centimetres, is white to slightly yellowish and covered with silky hairs. On the underside of the cap are closely spaced gills, free from attachment to the stem, and initially white before turning pink as the spores mature. The mushroom grows singly or in clusters, often appearing in old knotholes and wounds in elms and maples. V. bombycina contains compounds with antibacterial properties.
Pholiota nubigena, commonly known as the gastroid pholiota or the bubble gum fungus, is a species of secotioid fungus in the family Strophariaceae. It is found in mountainous areas of the western United States, where it grows on rotting conifer wood, often fir logs. It fruits in spring, often under snow, and early summer toward the end of the snowmelt period in high mountain forests. Fruit bodies appear similar to unopened mushrooms, measuring 1–4 centimetres tall with 1–2.4 cm diameter caps that are whitish to brownish. They have a short but distinct whitish stipe that extend through the internal spore mass (gleba) of the fruit body into the cap. The gleba consists of irregular chambers made of contorted gills that are brownish in color. A whitish, cottony partial veil is present in young specimens, but it often disappears in age and does not leave a ring on the stipe.
Calostoma fuhreri is a species of gasteroid fungus in the family Sclerodermataceae. Found in Australia, the original specimens were collected by mycologist Bruce Fuhrer, for whom the species is named. Fruit bodies grow to 28 mm (1.1 in) tall, and comprise a pseudostipe that is 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) long by 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) thick and supports a roughly spherical peridium. Atop the peridium is an irregular stoma (opening) that is red on the inside. Inside the peridium is a white gleba that consists of spores, basidia, and broken hyphae. The spores are oblong to elliptical, hyaline (translucent), and typically measure 20–26 by 9–11 μm.