Biology:Asterophora lycoperdoides

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Short description: Species of fungus

Asterophora lycoperdoides
Scientific classification edit
Missing taxonomy template (fix): Asterophora
Species:
Binomial name
Template:Taxonomy/AsterophoraAsterophora lycoperdoides
(Bull.) Ditmar
Synonyms[1]
Asterophora lycoperdoides
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
float
Mycological characteristics
gills on hymenium
cap is convex
hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
stipe is bare
spore print is white
ecology is parasitic
edibility: inedible

Asterophora lycoperdoides, commonly known as the star bearer, or powdery piggyback mushroom,[2] is a species of fungus in the Lyophyllaceae family. It grows as a parasite, mostly on Russula species, and is found in North America and Europe.[3]

Taxonomy

The species was first named as Agaricus lycoperdonoides by French mycologist Jean Baptiste Francois Pierre Bulliard in 1784.

Description

The cap is white but soon covered in brown powder, growing up to 2 centimetres (34 in) wide.[4] The gills are adnate and fairly distant, sometimes forked. The stems are up to 5 cm (2 in) long.[4]

Asexual spores are produced on the mushrooms cap which enable the organism to clone itself easily. The spores, called chlamydospores,[3] are star-shaped, hence the name 'star bearer'. It is regarded as nonpoisonous but inedible.[5][6]

Asterophora parasitica is similar but has more conic caps, its gills are typically more developed, and its chlamydospores are fusiform rather than star-shaped.[7]

Habitat and distribution

It grows as a parasite on other mushrooms, mainly those in the genus Russula.[4] It can be found from July to September in eastern North America, somewhat later on the West Coast.[4] It can be found August to November in temperate Europe, and can be locally common.[3]

References

  1. "Asterophora lycoperdoides (Bull.) Ditmar 1809". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Link=T&Rec=233153. 
  2. "Asterophora lycoperdoides, Powdery Piggyback mushroom". https://first-nature.com/fungi/asterophora-lycoperdoides.php. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Laessoe, Thomas; Petersen, Jens H. (2019) (in English). Fungi of Temperate Europe. 1. Princeton University Press. pp. 281. ISBN 978-0-691-18037-3. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. pp. 504. ISBN 978-0-593-31998-7. 
  5. Miller Jr., Orson K.; Miller, Hope H. (2006). North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi. Guilford, CN: FalconGuide. pp. 134. ISBN 978-0-7627-3109-1. 
  6. Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-1-55407-651-2. 
  7. Trudell, Steve; Ammirati, Joe (2009) (in en). Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press Field Guides. Portland, OR: Timber Press. pp. 305–306. ISBN 978-0-88192-935-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=WevHvt6Tr8kC. 

Wikidata ☰ Q2097379 entry