Gasteromycetes - Sclerodermatales, Melanogastrales, Tulostomatales, Lycoperdales, Nidulariales, Phallales - The Fifth Kingdom

Orders: Sclerodermatales, Melanogastrales, Tulostomatales,
Lycoperdales, Nidulariales, Phallales
(Gasteromycetae)
(22 illustrations)
(the CD-ROM has full text and 30 illustrations)

Sclerodermatales - Scleroderma aurantiacum, an 'earth ball' Note the thick peridium, lack of an ostiole, and blue-black gleba.
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Sclerodermatales - basidioma of Pisolithus tinctorius cut open to reveal locules in gleba.
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Sclerodermatales - Pisolithus tinctorius, an important ectomycorrhizal fungus.
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Sclerodermatales - Sphaerobolus stellatus, with gleba ready to be shot away.
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5 Melanogaster bisected.jpg (63761 bytes)

Melanogastrales - Melanogaster, a basidioma (from my garden) bisected to reveal locules of dark spores.
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Tulostomatales - tough, stalked basidiomata of Tulostoma found growing in sand dunes.
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Tulostomatales - Calostoma rodwayi, with a gelatinous stipe and vividly coloured, branched ostiole. This is a New Zealand species, but similar taxa occur in North America.
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Lycoperdales

Lycoperdales - Lycoperdon perlatum, a very common puffball.
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Lycoperdales - a large specimen of Langermannia (Calvatia) gigantea, the giant puffball, found near Kitchener, Ontario..

Lycoperdales - two earth stars, species of Geaster found in Algonquin Park, Ontario
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Nidulariales - vertical section of Cyathus, showing the deep funnel-shaped splash-cup, and the peridioles.
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Phallales

Phallales - egg and fully expanded basidioma of Mutinus caninus, the dog stinkhorn
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Phallales - fully expanded basidioma of Phallus. Note the basal peridium (egg-shell), spongy stipe and apical receptacle bearing the slimy, odoriferous gleba.
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Phallales - Phallus impudicus with an appreciative clientele of flies.
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Phallus impudicus cartoon.jpg (12379 bytes)

Phallales - rather outré cartoon of Phallus impudicus as a flasher, from a French book, 'Le Gratin des Champignons,' by Sabatier and Becker.

Phallales - basidiomata of Dictyophora. The distinctive skirt may be a waiting room for overflow crowds of hungry visiting insects.
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Phallales - bisected egg of Anthurus - see also next picture.
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Phallales - expanded basidioma of Anthurus. Note that the gleba is on the inside of the arms, and that the arms are coloured like meat. Compare with the previous picture
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Phallales - expanded lattice-work basidioma of Clathrus, with gleba on the inside.
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Phallales - eggs and expanded flower-like, meat-coloured receptacles of Aseroë from New Zealand
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Phallales - hypogeous basidomata of Hysterangium.
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A sample of gasteromycete stamps (from M.O. Moss 1998
The Mycologist 12: 104-106)