Lycoperdon nigrescens

Lycoperdon nigrescens
A similar species. L. nigrescens is darker between the spines.
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Lycoperdaceae
Genus: Lycoperdon
Species:
L. nigrescens
Binomial name
Lycoperdon nigrescens
Wahlenb. (1794)
Synonyms

Lycoperdon foetidum Bonord.

Lycoperdon nigrescens
Glebal hymenium
No distinct cap
Hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
Lacks a stipe
Spore print is olive
Ecology is saprotrophic
Edibility is unknown

Lycoperdon nigrescens, with the synonym Lycoperdon foetidum, commonly known as the dusky puffball,[1] is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. It was first described scientifically in 1794 by the Swedish naturalist Göran Wahlenberg.[2]

The fruit body grows up to 6 centimetres (2+14 in) tall and 4 cm (1+12 in) wide.[3] The caps are shaped somewhat like pears, with spines ranging in brightness, which later break off.[4] The surface is dark between the spines. The stipe has thin strands coming from its base.[4] Visually similar to other species when young, it grows increasingly darker with age and lacks the pronounced stipe that old Lycoperdon perlatum specimens attain.[5]

It appears from summer to fall in both conifer and hardwood forests, in addition to alpine areas.[4] Its edibility is unknown, but related puffballs are edible in youth, when still firm and white inside.[3]

References

  1. ^ Phillips R. (2013). Mushrooms: A Comprehensive Guide to Mushroom Identification. Pan Macmillan. p. 330. ISBN 978-1-4472-6402-6.
  2. ^ "Lycoperdon nigrescens Wahlenb. 1794". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  3. ^ a b Arora, David (1986) [1979]. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. pp. 692–93. ISBN 978-0-89815-170-1.
  4. ^ a b c Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-88192-935-5.
  5. ^ ""Matchmaker Mushroom Identification"". 2019.