Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that (when mature) bursts on contact or impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores into the surrounding area. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including Calvatia , Calbovista and Lycoperdon . The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage.
18-426: The distinguishing feature of all puffballs is that they do not have an open cap with spore-bearing gills . Instead, spores are produced internally, in a spheroidal fruit body called a gasterothecium (gasteroid 'stomach-like' basidiocarp ). As the spores mature, they form a mass called a gleba in the centre of the fruitbody that is often of a distinctive color and texture. The basidiocarp remains closed until after
36-621: A lamella ( pl. : lamellae ), or gill , is a papery hymenophore rib under the cap of some mushroom species, most often agarics . The gills are used by the mushrooms as a means of spore dispersal , and are important for species identification . The attachment of the gills to the stem is classified based on the shape of the gills when viewed from the side, while color, crowding and the shape of individual gills can also be important features. Additionally, gills can have distinctive microscopic or macroscopic features. For instance, Lactarius species typically seep latex from their gills. It
54-459: A means to safely procure honey; the practice later inspired experimental medicinal application of the puffball smoke as a surgical general anesthetic in 1853. While most puffballs are not poisonous, some often look similar to young agarics , and especially the deadly Amanitas , such as the death cap or destroying angel mushrooms. Young puffballs in the edible stage, before maturation of the gleba, have undifferentiated white flesh within, whereas
72-440: A mushroom is placed on a surface and spores are allowed to fall underneath. This technique is often used by mycologists and mushroom hunters distinguish identify the genus of a specimen and differentiate between similar-looking species. Knowing where and when to search for mushrooms is an important identification skill that takes practice. Most mushroom species require specific conditions. For example, some species only grow at
90-525: A visible stalk or stem, while stalked puffballs do have a stalk that supports the gleba. None of the stalked puffballs are edible as they are tough and woody mushrooms. The Hymenogastrales and Enteridium lycoperdon , a slime mold , are the false puffballs . A gleba which is powdery on maturity is a feature of true puffballs, stalked puffballs and earthstars. False puffballs are hard like rock or brittle. All false puffballs are inedible, as they are tough and bitter to taste. The genus Scleroderma , which has
108-470: A young purple gleba, should also be avoided. Puffballs were traditionally used in Tibet for making ink by burning them, grinding the ash, then putting them in water and adding glue liquid and "a nye shing ma decoction", which, when pressed for a long time, made a black dark substance that was used as ink. Rural Americans burned the common puffball with some kind of bee smoker to anesthetize honey bees as
126-417: Is the most effective means of increasing the ratio of surface area to mass, which increases the potential for spore production and dispersal. Other groups of fungi to bear gills include: Members of the two related genera of chanterelles, Cantharellus and Craterellus , have rudimentary lamellar structures which are sometimes referred to as "false gills". They are distinguished from "true gills" because
144-470: The Podaxis pistillaris , which is also called the "false shaggy mane". There are also a number of false puffballs that look similar to the true ones. Stalked puffballs species: True puffballs genera and species: False puffballs species: Major orders: Similarly, the true truffles ( Tuberales ) are gasteroid Ascomycota . Their ascocarps are called tuberothecia. Lamella (mycology) In mycology ,
162-401: The stipe : Mushroom hunting#Identifying mushrooms Mushroom hunting , mushrooming , mushroom picking , mushroom foraging , and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild. This is typically done for culinary use, although medicinal and psychotropic uses are also known. This practice is popular throughout most of Europe, Australia, and Asia, as well as in
180-477: The temperate regions of Canada and the United States. Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms are essential for correct visual mushroom identification. Numerous field guides on mushrooms are available and recommended to help distinguish between safe and edible mushrooms, and the many poisonous or inedible species . A common mushroom identification technique is the spore print , in which
198-601: The base of a certain type of tree. Finding a desired species known to grow in a certain particular region can be challenging. Nuclear fallout from the Chernobyl disaster is an important issue concerning mushroom picking in Europe. Due to the wide spread of their mycelium , mushrooms tend to accumulate more radioactive caesium-137 than surrounding soil and other organisms. State agencies (e.g. Bellesrad in Belarus) monitor and analyze
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#1733084810769216-469: The degree of radionuclide accumulation in various wild species of plants and animals. In particular, Bellesrad claims that Svinushka ( Paxillus ssp.), Maslenok ( Suillus ssp.), Mohovik ( Xerocomus ssp.), and Horkushka ( Lactarius rufus ) are the worst ones in this respect. The safest one is Opyonok Osyenniy ( Armillaria mellea ). This is an issue not only in Poland , Belarus , Ukraine and Russia :
234-542: The fallout also reached western Europe, and until recently the German government discouraged people gathering certain mushrooms. "Little brown mushrooms" (or LBMs) refers to a large number of small, dull-coloured agaric species, with few uniquely distinguishing macromorphological characteristics. As a result, LBMs typically range from difficult to impossible for mushroom hunters to identify. Experienced mushroom hunters may discern more subtle identifying traits that help narrow
252-495: The gills of immature Amanita mushrooms can be seen if they are closely examined. They can be very toxic. The giant puffball , Calvatia gigantea (earlier classified as Lycoperdon giganteum ), reaches 1 foot (0.30 m) or more in diameter, and is difficult to mistake for any other fungus. It has been estimated that, when mature, a large specimen of this fungus will produce around 7 × 10 spores. Not all true puffball mushrooms are without stalks. Some may also be stalked, such as
270-442: The mushroom down to a particular genus or group of species, but exact identification of LBMs often requires close examination of microscopic characteristics plus a certain degree of familiarity or specialization in that particular group. "Boring Ubiquitous Mushroom" (or BUM) is also sometimes used to describe groups of difficult to identify larger agarics, many of which are in the genus Hebeloma . "Just Another Russula" (or JAR)
288-712: The spores have been released from the basidia . Eventually, it develops an aperture, or dries, becomes brittle, and splits, and the spores escape. The spores of puffballs are statismospores rather than ballistospores, meaning they are not forcibly extruded from the basidium. Puffballs and similar forms are thought to have evolved convergently (that is, in numerous independent events) from Hymenomycetes by gasteromycetation , through secotioid stages. Thus, 'Gasteromycetes' and 'Gasteromycetidae' are now considered to be descriptive, morphological terms (more properly gasteroid or gasteromycetes , to avoid taxonomic implications) but not valid cladistic terms. True puffballs do not have
306-445: The structure of the fertile surface (" hymenium ") continues uninterrupted over the gill edge, so they are little more than folds, wrinkles or veins. The genus Gomphus also has false gills. These primitive lamellae indicate how the evolution towards true gills probably happened. Lamellula ( pl. : lamellulae) are partial gills that do not reach the stipe. Morphologically , gills are classified according to their attachment to
324-408: Was originally believed that all gilled fungi were Agaricales , but as fungi were studied in more detail, some gilled species were demonstrated not to be. It is now clear that this is a case of convergent evolution (i.e. gill-like structures evolved separately) rather than being an anatomic feature that evolved only once. The apparent reason that various basidiomycetes have evolved gills is that it
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