Calvatia cyathiformis

Calvatia cyathiformis
On a lawn near Cooktown, Queensland, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Agaricaceae
Genus:	Calvatia
Species:	C. cyathiformis
Binomial name
Calvatia cyathiformis (Bosc) Morgan. J. Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist. 12: 168 (1890)

Mycological characteristics
	Glebal hymenium
	No distinct cap
	Hymenium attachment is not applicable
	Lacks a stipe
	Spore print is purple to purple-brown
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is edible or inedible

C. cyathiformis.

Calvatia cyathiformis, or purple-spored puffball, ^[1] is a large saprobic species of Calvatia . This terrestrial puffball has purplish or purple-brown spores, which distinguish it from other large Agaricales. It is found in North America and Australia, mostly in prairie or grassland environments. It is reportedly edible when young.

Description

The "chocolate-cake" look of the interior of a mature specimen

The fruiting body is 5–20 cm (2–8 in) high and/or broad. ^[2] When young it is relatively smooth and spherical or slightly flattened and can be white, purplish or brownish. ^[2] It has a chocolate-brown or purple-colored gleba with a smooth exoperidium. As it matures, it often becomes pear- or top-shaped ^[1] and the exterior skin takes on a dark or silvery colour. As it ages the exterior dries and cracks and the fleshy spore-bearing interior breaks away to be distributed by wind and rain. After the spores completely disperse, a sterile base in the form of a soft leathery cup remains on the ground. ^[3]

According to MushroomExpert.Com, the spores are 3.5–7.5  μm in diameter, "round, spiny or warty to nearly smooth. Capillitial threads 3–7.5 μm wide; thick-walled; minutely pitted." ^[4] The spore mass turns from white to yellow to dull purple or purple-brown at maturity. ^[1]

Outside of the genus, similar species include Lycoperdon utriforme . ^[2]

Habitat and distribution

Calvatia cyathiformis is commonly found in grazing paddocks and grassed areas around the wet areas of Australia in the southwest of Western Australia, and from Adelaide in South Australia to Cooktown, on Cape York Peninsula, as well as in Darwin, Northern Territory.^{[ citation needed ]}

Uses

It is said to be edible until the flesh begins to turn to a tan colour. ^[5] According to MushroomExpert.Com:

To make a meal from most mushrooms, you probably hope to find at least a half dozen to a dozen, depending on the size. The large Calvatia species are special, because one or two at the most will probably be sufficient for a dinner for two. While this puffball does not have a strong flavor of its own, it is still quite good, and its ability to absorb flavors makes it a rewarding find. ^[4]

Footnotes

1. Arora, David (1986) [1979]. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. p. 687. ISBN   978-0-89815-170-1.
2. Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 365–366. ISBN   978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC   797915861.
3. Australian Fungi - A Blog Accessed 12 Feb. 2011.
4. "Calvatia cyathiformis (MushroomExpert.Com)". MushroomExpert.Com. Archived from the original on 2005-05-17.
5. Hall et al (2003), p. 147.

References

• Hall, Ian, et al. (2003). Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of the World. Timber Press. ISBN   978-0-88192-586-9.

External links

• Media related to Calvatia cyathiformis at Wikimedia Commons
• Calvatia cyathiformis at Mushroomobserver.org.