Scleroderma (fungus)
{{Short description|Genus of fungi}}
{{For|the autoimmune disease|scleroderma}}
{{Redirect|Earth ball|reference to the shape of Earth|Spherical Earth|the large ball used in cooperative games|cage ball}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Scleroderma_texense_Veracruz.jpg
| image_caption = Scleroderma texense
| taxon = Scleroderma
| authority = Pers.
| type_species = Scleroderma verrucosum
| type_species_authority = (Bull.) Pers. (1801)
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
}}
Scleroderma is a genus of fungi, commonly known as earth balls, now known to belong to the Boletales order, in suborder Sclerodermatineae.{{cite journal |last1= Binder M, Hibbett DS.|year=2006|title=Molecular systematics and biological diversification of Boletales|journal=Mycologia|volume=98|issue=6|pages=971–81 |doi= 10.3852/mycologia.98.6.971 |pmid= 17486973 |first1= M |last2= Hibbett |first2= DS}} The best known species are S. citrinum and S. verrucosum. They are found worldwide.
Various members of this genus are used as inoculation symbionts to colonize and promote the growth of tree seedlings in nurseries.{{cite journal |author1=Chen YL |author2=Liu S |author3=Dell B. |title=Mycorrhizal status of Eucalyptus plantations in south China and implications for management |journal=Mycorrhiza |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=527–35 |year=2007 |pmid=17406907 |doi=10.1007/s00572-007-0125-6 |bibcode=2007Mycor..17..527C }} They are not edible.
The name comes from the Greek sclera meaning hard and derma meaning skin.
Description
The peridium (outer wall), which may be smooth or warted, is very thick and tough. At maturity it splits irregularly over the upper part of the basidiocarp to reveal the dark gleba underneath. Spores are produced in small brownish-purple, pea-like bodies called peridioles that initially are outlined by wall-like aggregations of white hyphae. These peridioles disintegrate as the fruit body matures, and by the time the peridium splits open, only a powdery mass of dark spores is visible. Spores are roughly spherical in shape with warts or reticulate ornamentation, thick-walled, and brown. Species in Scleroderma are ectomycorrhizal with shrubs and trees, and have a worldwide distribution.{{cite book |author1=Miller HR |author2=Miller OK. |title=Gasteromycetes: Morphological and Developmental Features, with keys to the orders, families, and genera |publisher=Mad River Press |location=Eureka, CA |year=1988 |isbn=0-916422-74-7}}
