''Calvatia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

puffball Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that bursts on impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores when mature. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including '' Calvatia'', '' ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s that includes the spectacular giant puffball ''C. gigantea''. It was formerly classified within the now-obsolete order

Lycoperdales The Lycoperdales are a now outdated order of fungi. The order included some well-known types such as the giant puffball, the earthstars, and other tuberous fungi. They were defined as having epigeous basidiomes, a hymenium present, one to three ...

, which, following a restructuring of fungal taxonomy brought about by

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

, has been split; the puffballs, ''Calvatia spp.'' are now placed in the family

Agaricaceae The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was publishe ...

of the order Agaricales. Most species in the genus ''Calvatia'' are

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

when young, though some are best avoided, such as '' Calvatia fumosa'', which has a very pungent odor. The name ''Calvatia'' derives from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''calvus'' meaning "bald" and ''calvaria'', meaning "dome of the skull".

Taxonomy

''Calvatia'' was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries in 1849. Fries included a single species in the genus, ''

Calvatia craniiformis ''Calvatia craniiformis'', commonly known as the brain puffball or the skull-shaped puffball, is a species of puffball fungus in the family Agaricaceae. It is found in Asia, Australia, and North America, where it grows on the ground in open woods ...

'', which was originally described as ''Bovista craniiformis'' by

Lewis David de Schweinitz Lewis David de Schweinitz (13 February 1780 – 8 February 1834) was a German-American botanist and mycologist. He is considered by some the "Father of North American Mycology", but also made significant contributions to botany. Education ...

in 1832.

Species

Index Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partners along with Landcare Research and the Institute of M ...

lists 58 species of ''Calvatia''. Calvatia nipponica 01

* '' C. agaricoides'' Dissing & M. Lange 1962 * '' C. ahmadii'' Khalid & S.H. Iqbal 2004 – Pakistan * '' C. aniodina'' Pat. 1912 – Africa * '' C. arctica'' Ferd. & Winge 1910 – Greenland * '' C. argentea'' (Berk.) Kreisel 1992 * '' C. bellii'' (Peck) M. Lange 1990 * '' C. bicolor'' (Lév.) Kreisel 1992 * '' C. boninensis'' S.Ito & S.Imai 1939 –

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic read ...

, Japan * '' C. booniana'' A.H.Sm. 1964 * '' C. borealis'' T.C.E.Fr. 1914 – Europe * '' C. candida'' (Rostk.) Hollós 1902 * '' C. capensis'' (Lloyd) J.C.Coetzee, Eicker & A.E.van Wyk 2003 * '' C. connivens'' M.Lange 1990 – Greenland * '' C. cretacea'' (Berk.) Lloyd 1917 * '' C. craniiformis'' (Schwein.) Fr. ex De Toni 1888 * '' C. crucibulum'' (Mont.) Kreisel 1992 * '' C. cyathiformis'' (Bosc) Morgan 1890 * '' C. flava'' (Massee) Kreisel 1992 * '' C. friabilis'' (G.Moreno, Altés, C.Ochoa & J.E.Wright) G.Moreno, Altés & C.Ochoa 2006 * '' C. fulvida'' Sosin 1952 * '' C. fusca'' (G.Cunn.) Grgur. 1997 * '' C. gardneri'' (Berk.) Lloyd 1904 * '' C. gigantea'' (Batsch) Lloyd 1904 * '' C. guzmanii'' C.R.Alves & Cortez 2012 * '' C. holothurioides'' Rebriev 2013 * '' C. horrida'' M.Lange 1990 – Svalbard, Norway * '' C. incerta'' Bottomley 1948 * '' C. kakavu'' (Zipp.) Overeem 1927 * '' C. lacerata'' A.H.Sm. 1964 * '' C. lachnoderma'' Pat. 1907 * '' C. lilacina'' (Mont. & Berk.) Henn. 1904 * '' C. lloydii'' Zeller & Coker 1947 * '' C. lycoperdoides'' Kościelny & Wojt. 1935 * '' C. macrogemmae'' Lloyd 1923 * '' C. nipponica'' Kawam. ex Kasuya & Katum. 2008 * '' C. nodulata'' Alfredo & Baseia 2014 – Brazil * '' C. oblongispora'' V.L.Suárez, J.E.Wright & Calonge 2009 – Brazil * '' C. occidentalis'' Lloyd 1915 * '' C. ochrogleba'' Zeller 1947 * '' C. olba'' Grgur. 1997 –

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia * '' C. olivacea'' (Cooke & Massee) Lloyd 1905 * '' C. owyheensis'' A.H.Sm. 1964 * '' C. pachydermica'' (Speg.) Kreisel 1992 * '' C. pallida'' A.H.Sm. 1964 * '' C. paradoxa'' A.H.Sm. 1964 * '' C. polygonia'' A.H.Sm. 1964 * '' C. primitiva'' Lloyd 1904 * '' C. pseudolilacina'' (Speg.) Speg. 1919 * '' C. pygmaea'' (R.E.Fr.) Kreisel, G.Moreno, C.Ochoa & Altés 1998 * '' C. pyriformis'' (Lév.) Kreisel 1992 * '' C. rosacea'' Kreisel 1989 – Ecuador * '' C. rubrotincta'' Zeller 1947 * '' C. rugosa'' (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) D.A. Reid 1977 * '' C. sculpta'' (Harkn.) Lloyd 1904 * '' C. septentrionalis'' M.Lange 1990 – Greenland * '' C. sporocristata'' Calonge 2003 – Costa Rica * '' C. subtomentosa'' Dissing & M.Lange 1962 * '' C. tropicalis'' (Speg.) Speg. 1919 * '' C. turneri'' (Ellis & Everh.) Demoulin & M.Lange 1990 * '' C. utriformis'' (Bull.) Jaap 1918 * '' C. vinosa'' Kasuya & Retn. 2006 – Indonesia * '' C. violascens'' (Cooke & Massee) R.T.Baker 1907

References

External links

''Puffballs and their allies in Michigan''
by Alexander H. Smith, 1951. (Full text of monograph.) {{Taxonbar, from=Q1549736 Agaricaceae Agaricales genera Puffballs Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries Taxa described in 1849

Taxonomy

Species

See also

References

External links