Scleroderma verrucosum

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| image = Scleroderma verrucosum 01.JPG

| image_caption =

| taxon = Scleroderma verrucosum

| authority = (Bull.) Pers. (1801)

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms = Lycoperdon verrucosum Bull. (1791)

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Scleroderma verrucosum is a basidiomycete fungus and a member of the genus Scleroderma, or "earth balls". First described scientifically in 1791, the species has a cosmopolitan distribution, and grows in the ground in nutrient-rich, sandy soils.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Pierre Bulliard in 1791 as Lycoperdon verrucosum. Christian Hendrik Persoon transferred it to the genus Scleroderma in 1801. The specific epithet verrucosum means "warted".

Description

The fruit body is roughly spherical with a somewhat flattened top, and has a thick, stem-like base; it attains a diameter of {{convert|2|–|7|cm|in|1|abbr=on|frac=8}}. Its color is ochre or dingy brown, and the surface is covered with scaly warts that eventually slough off to leave a relatively smooth surface. The thin flesh underneath the peridium stains pink to red when the fruit body is cut open. The peridium (outer skin) is thin and fragile when dry, and cracks irregularly to form a large opening. The internal spore-bearing tissue, the gleba, is initially white, but becomes light brown and powdery after the spores mature. The spores are spherical, and covered with minute warts or spines, and measure about 12 μm in diameter.

The fruit bodies are edible when the gleba is still firm and white.

On the other hand, S. verrucosum appears to cause poisoning symptoms similar to Scleroderma citrinum at least in some people, so it cannot be recommended for consumption.[http://www.toxinfo.org/pilz/db/frameset.php?genic=GEMEINER+KARTOFFELBOVIST+%28SCLERODERMA+CITRINUM%29 Gemeiner Kartoffelbovist]. In: Pilzdatenbank des Giftnotrufs München. Retrieved, 13 January 2014.Rosemarie Kießling: [http://www.dgfm-ev.de/node/1296 Eine Vergiftung mit Scleroderma Verrucosum (Bull.) Pers. 1801]. Website der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Mykologie. Retrieved, 13 January 2014.

Habitat and distribution

Sclerodermas are ectomycorrhizal. The fruit bodies of Scleroderma verrucosum grow in the soil in nutrient-rich, sandy soil, often in deciduous forests. The species has been found in Africa, Asia (China and India), Australia, Europe, North America (including Hawaii), and South America.

The species was featured on a Paraguayan postage stamp in 1985.

References

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=

{{cite book |author=Arora D. |title=Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi |publisher=Ten Speed Press |location=Berkeley, California |year=1986 |page=[https://archive.org/details/mushroomsdemysti00aror_0/page/912 912] |isbn=0-89815-169-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/mushroomsdemysti00aror_0/page/912 }}

{{cite book |author=Bulliard P. |title=Histoire des champignons de la France. I |year=1791 |location=Paris, France |page=154, t. 24 |language=fr }}

{{cite journal |author1=De AB |author2=Debasmita R. |title=Scleroderma verrucosum (Bull.) Pers. – an addition to the fungi of West Bengal, (India) |journal=Journal of Natural History (India) |year=2007 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=31–3 |issn= 0973-6166}}

{{cite book |title=VNR Color Dictionary of Mushrooms |author1=Dickinson C |author2=Lucas J. |year=1982 |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold |isbn=978-0442219987 |pages=32–3}}

{{cite book |author1=Hemmes DE |author2=Desjardin D. |title=Mushrooms of Hawai'i: An Identification Guide |publisher=Ten Speed Press |location=Berkeley, California |year=2002 |page=119 |isbn=1580083390}}

{{cite journal |author=Jian-Zong L. |title=Studies of Scleroderma from China |journal=Hunan Shifan Daxue Ziran Kexue Xuebao |year=2003 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=60–4 |language=zh |issn=1000-2537}}

{{cite journal |author=Moss MO. |title=Gasteroid Basidiomycetes on postage stamps |journal=Mycologist |year=1998 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=104–6 |doi=10.1016/S0269-915X(98)80005-0}}

{{cite journal |author1=Sanon KB |author2=Bâ AM |author3=Dexheimer J. |title=Mycorrhizal status of some fungi fruiting beneath indigenous trees in Burkina Faso |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |year=1997 |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=61–9 |doi=10.1016/S0378-1127(97)00089-3}}

{{cite journal |author1=Trierveiler-Pereira L |author2=Baseia G. |title=A checklist of the Brazilian gasteroid fungi (Basidiomycota) |journal=Mycotaxon |year=2009 |volume=108 |pages=441–4 |doi=10.5248/108.441|doi-access=free }}

{{cite book |author1=Trudell S. |author2=Ammirati J. |title=Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest: Timber Press Field Guide (Timber Press Field Guides) |publisher=Timber Press |location=Portland, Oregon |year=2009 |page=271 |isbn=978-0-88192-935-5}}

{{cite web |title=Scleroderma verrucosum (Bull.) Pers. 1801 |url=http://www.mycobank.org/BioloMICS.aspx?Table=Mycobank&Rec=122918&Fields=All |publisher=MycoBank. International Mycological Association |access-date=2012-10-01}}

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