''Handkea'' is a genus of

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'', ''Ca ...

mushrooms 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 ...

. In 1989, German mycologist Hanns Kreisel described the genus ''Handkea'' to include species of ''

Calvatia ''Calvatia'' is a genus of puffball mushrooms that includes the spectacular giant puffball ''C. gigantea''. It was formerly classified within the now-obsolete order Lycoperdales, which, following a restructuring of fungal taxonomy brought ...

'' with distinct microscopic features, including a unique type of

capillitium Capillitium (pl. capillitia) is a mass of sterile fibers within a fruit body interspersed among spores. It is found in Mycetozoa (slime molds) and gasteroid fungi of the fungal subdivision Agaricomycotina The subdivision Agaricomycotina, also kn ...

(coarse thick-walled

hyphae A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

in the

gleba Gleba (, from Latin ''glaeba, glēba'', "lump") is the fleshy spore-bearing inner mass of certain fungi such as the puffball or stinkhorn. The gleba is a solid mass of spores, generated within an enclosed area within the sporocarp. The continu ...

), with curvy slits instead of the usual pores. Although accepted by some authors, the genus concept has been rejected by others. The genus name of ''Handkea'' is in honour of Horst-Herbert Handke (1913-2005), who was a German botanist and Professor at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analyses published in 2008 shows that ''Handkea'' may be grouped in a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

along with species from several other genera, including ''

Lycoperdon ''Lycoperdon'' is a genus of puffball mushrooms. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 50 species. In general, it contains the smaller species such as the pear-shaped puffball and the gem-studded puffball. It was formerly cl ...

'', ''

Vascellum ''Vascellum'' is a genus of puffball fungi in the family Agaricaceae. The genus was defined by Czech mycologist František Šmarda in 1958. Species *'' Vascellum abscissum'' (R.E.Fr.) Kreisel 1962 – South America *'' Vascellum angulatum'' (Di ...

'', '' Morganella'', ''

Bovistella ''Bovistella'' is a genus of puffball fungi in the family Agaricaceae. The genus was circumscribed by mycologist Andrew Price Morgan in 1892. Species , the nomenclatural authority Index Fungorum accepts 20 species in ''Bovistella'': See also * ...

'', and ''

''.

Species

References

External links

* * Lycoperdaceae Agaricales genera Puffballs {{Agaricales-stub