Lycoperdon pulcherrimum
| Lycoperdon pulcherrimum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Lycoperdaceae |
| Genus: | Lycoperdon |
| Species: | L. pulcherrimum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lycoperdon pulcherrimum Berk. & M.A.Curtis (1873)
| |
| Lycoperdon pulcherrimum | |
|---|---|
| Glebal hymenium | |
| No distinct cap | |
| Hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable | |
| Lacks a stipe | |
| Spore print is olive | |
| Ecology is saprotrophic | |
| Edibility is edible or inedible | |
Lycoperdon pulcherrimum, commonly known as the long-spined puffball,[1] is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. It was first described scientifically in 1873 by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis.[2]
The fruit body grows to 5 centimetres (2 in) wide and tall.[1] It is generally pear-shaped. The larger portion forms the top and is covered by whitish spines up to 6 millimetres (1⁄4 in) long. The stemlike portion is a sterile base which is white in youth, aging to purplish brown; it is often wrinkled.[1] The spore mass is initially white and ages to become yellow then dark brownish.[1] It can resemble a number of other species in the genus.[1]
The fungus is found in the southern United States.[3] Like many puffballs, it is edible in youth (when the spore mass is white and firm) but inedible in age.[1] Also being small and infrequent, it is of little culinary value.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Arora, David (1986) [1979]. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. p. 694. ISBN 978-0-89815-170-1.
- ^ Berkeley MJ. (1873). "Notices of North American fungi". Grevillea. 2 (16): 49–53.
- ^ Miller HR, Miller OK Jr. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, Connecticut: Falcon Guides. p. 454. ISBN 978-0-7627-3109-1.
External links