Part 57

Spore-mass: white at first then greenish yellow and finally olive-brown and formed around a sterile column.

Spores: small, olive, minutely warted but appearing smooth under the student microscope; 4 µm in diameter and intermixed with long, olive coloured, branched hyphal threads 4-5 µm broad and of irregular wall thickness.

Habitat & Distribution: This puff-ball grows in huge clusters on stumps and logs, or can be traced to buried pieces of wood; it occurs from summer to late autumn.

General Information: There are several species of Lycoperdon in this country, some quite small and several rather infrequent. L. pyriforme is the only one which grows on wood; ‘pyriforme’ means pear-shaped and is derived from the shape of the fruit-body.

~L. perlatum~ Persoon is also a common puff-ball; it is pestle-shaped or top-shaped, whitish or tan with minutely roughened, globose spores measuring 4 µm in diameter. The fruit-body is covered in a mixture of large and small, fragile spines which leave a network when rubbed off. It grows in woods and on heaths.

~L. foetidum~ Bonorden is similar to L. perlatum, but the spines are umber or vandyke-brown; it also grows both in woods and upland pastures, particularly the latter.

Illustrations: L. pyriforme--Hvass 316; LH 219; NB 155³; WD 109³. L. perlatum--Hvass 315; LH 217; NB 155²; WD 110².

~Langermannia gigantea~ (Persoon) Rostkovius

Giant puff-ball

Fruit-body: diameter 300-450 mm (-1,050 mm).

Description:

Fruit-body: round or slightly flattened on the top, smooth or cracked into small scales, white but becoming flushed yellowish with age and finally olive-brown when old, frequently the outer layer dries and breaks away to expose the powdery spore-mass within.

Stem: absent or only present as a small cone of tissue.

Spore-mass: whitish, cream-coloured and finally olive-brown.

Spores: small, brownish, minutely warted and spherical, 4-5 µm in diameter and intermixed with thick-walled, branched, brown hyphae, 3-5 µm broad.

Habitat & Distribution: On the ground in copses, at the edges of woods, under hedges or on refuse tips, and sometimes in gardens. It may appear in the same place year after year, and has been recorded growing beneath the rafters in houses.

General Information: When young it is white inside or cream-coloured before the spores have developed and can then be cut into slices and cooked. I have seen it on sale in markets in N. America and it is collected for food by many in Europe. Its pumpkin-shape with a circumference of anything up to 1,050 mm makes this fungus easily recognisable. The number of spores produced by a fruit-body measuring 400 × 280 mm has been calculated by A. H. R. Buller as 7,000,000,000,000 spores!

~Calvatia utriformis~ (Fries) Jaap (= C. caelata (Persoon) Morgan) has a goblet-like shape and a distinct, sterile base composed of large cells with a prominent membrane separating them from the spore-mass; the spores are 4-5 µm diameter, smooth and spherical.

~C. excipuliformis~ (Fries) Perdeck (= C. saccata (Vahl.) Morgan) is pestle-shaped with a well developed stem. The spore-mass is composed of warted, globose spores, 4-5 µm in diameter.

~Bovista nigrescens~ Persoon is very similar in shape to the Giant puff-ball, but is very much smaller; it lacks a stalk, being attached to the substrate only by mycelial cords. It commences white, but then darkens to become purplish brown at maturity when it also breaks from its moorings and rolls about in the wind.

The last three species are found on heaths, in pastures or on the ground in woods.

Illustrations: C. gigantea--Hvass 312; LH 217; NB 371; WD 109⁷. B. nigrescens--Hvass 311; LH 219; NB 37³.

Earth-stars and Earth-balls

The earth-stars, i.e. species of Geastrum, are closely related to the puff-balls, but differ in having two very distinct and separate enclosing walls, the outer one splitting at maturity to expose a ‘puff-ball’ within; an example of the genus is G. triplex Jungh, found in parks or under beech trees or G. rufescens Pers. (illustrated) in mixed woodland. The outer skin splits in different ways in different species: in some it splits like a star--hence the common name of Earth-star, in some the spore-mass is raised as if on stilts. There are several species of Geastrum recorded for Britain, but they are decidedly uncommon.

The Earth-balls are, however, far from uncommon and may be met with from early summer until late autumn in any wood particularly those on sandy soils. They are unrelated to the earth-stars.

Earth-balls

~Scleroderma citrinum~ Persoon

Common earth-ball