Myriostoma is a fungal genus in the family Geastraceae. The genus is has four species, with the type species being Myristoma coliforme. It is an earthstar, so named because the spore-bearing sac’s outer wall splits open into the shape of a star. In 2004 it was one of 33 species proposed for protection under the Bern Convention.
About Myriostoma in brief
Myriostoma is a fungal genus in the family Geastraceae. The genus is has four species, with the type species being Myristoma coliforme. It is an earthstar, so named because the spore-bearing sac’s outer wall splits open into the shape of a star. The fruit body, initially shaped like a puffball, is encased within an outer covering that splits open from the top to form rays. The fungus is unique among the earthstars in having a spore case that is supported by multiple stalks, and is perforated by several small holes suggestive of its common names salt-shaker earthstar and pepperpot. In 2004 it was one of 33 species proposed for protection under the Bern Convention by the European Council for Conservation of Fungi. The inedible fungus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and has been found in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Europe, where it grows in humus-rich forests or in woodlands.
It appears on the Red Lists of 12 European countries, and it was on the list of species to be protected in 2004 by the EU. The spores are dispersed when falling water hits the outer wall of the spores, creating puffs of air that force the spores through the holes. The name is derived from the words colum, meaning “strainer” and formainer, and Berkeley’s vernacular name — Cullen’s puffball-shape. The generic name is from the Greek words υροξά, meaning ‘countless’ and ‘count’ – meaning ‘pillbox’ or ‘pillbox’ The species was first mentioned in the scientific literature by Samuel Doody in the second edition of John Ray’s Synopsis methodica stirpium Britannicarum in 1696. It was first described scientifically as a new species in 1776 from collections made in England by James Dickson, who found it growing in roadside banks and hedgerows in Suffolk and Norfolk.
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This page is based on the article Myriostoma published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
