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GASTEROMYCETES<br />
GASTEROMYCETES<br />
The G asteromycetes include the fungi commonly known as puflfballs and<br />
closely related forms. In this group the spores are produced on basidia but are<br />
not forcibly discharged as in the mushrooms, boletes and other Basidiomy-<br />
cetes. The basidia break down and the spores are typically left as a powdery<br />
mass within the fruiting body and are dispersed through a pore or by the<br />
wearing away of the outer layers of the fruit body.<br />
Representatives of three main groups of Gasteromycetes are discussed<br />
here. In the Lycoperdaceae, which include the puffballs proper, the spores are<br />
produced and dispersed as described above. In the Phallaceae or stinkhorns,<br />
the spores are produced in shme and elevated on the end of a stalk-Hke struc-<br />
ture that emerges from an enclosing volva. They usually produce an offensive<br />
odor that is beheved to attract insects which aid in the dispersal of the spores.<br />
In the Nidulariaceae or bird's-nest fungi, the spores are produced within<br />
structures called peridioles which are borne in a cup-Hke fructification from<br />
which they are dispersed by driving rain drops, and the spores are then freed<br />
by the decay of the peridiole wall.<br />
The effect of rain in dispersing spores of the true puffballs may easily be<br />
demonstrated by placing a mature puffball at some distance under a burette<br />
and permitting drops of water to fall on it. As each drop strikes the puffball a<br />
puff of spores is emitted.<br />
This is a large and extremely varied group of fungi with many quaHties<br />
that attract the attention and interest of naturaHsts from the immense size<br />
attained by some specimens of Calvatia gigantea to the repulsive odors of the<br />
stinkhorns, fantastic shapes of some of the other groups, and fascinating<br />
methods of spore dispersal found among them.<br />
The puffballs proper are generally regarded as one of the safest groups of<br />
fungi to use as food and one of the few groups in which it is possible to give a<br />
sort of rule of thumb for determining an edible species. It seems safe to say that<br />
any puffball that is white and homogeneous inside is good to eat. However, in<br />
this group as with all other fungi it is wise to proceed cautiously with any<br />
species not previously tried because of the possibihty of personal sensitivity<br />
to a particular species. It is important to make certain that the fruiting body is<br />
homogeneous within since it is possible that young specimens of the deadly<br />
poisonous Amanita virosa might be mistaken for a puffball before the volva is<br />
ruptured. Cutting the fruit body across will reveal the outhne of the young<br />
mushroom if it is an Amanita (Figure 91). The eggs of the phalloids can also be<br />
distinguished from the puffballs in this way and in spite of the fact that these<br />
are edible, according to some authors, they are not recommended as food.<br />
The Nidulariaceae are, of course, too small and tough to be of any value as<br />
food.<br />
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