The Sclerodermataceae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of fungi in the order

Boletales The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. T ...

, containing several genera of unusual fungi that little resemble

bolete {{refimprove, date=July 2020 A bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungal fruiting body. It can be identified thanks to a unique mushroom cap. The cap is clearly different from the stem. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surfa ...

s. Taxa, which include species commonly known as the ‘hard-skinned

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 ...

s’, ‘

earthball ''Scleroderma'' is a genus of fungi, commonly known as earth balls, now known to belong to the Boletales order, in suborder Sclerodermatineae. The best known species are '' S. citrinum'' and '' S. verrucosum''. They are found worldwide. V ...

s’, or '

earthstars Geastrales is an order of gasterocarpic basidiomycetes (fungi) that are related to Cantharellales. The order contains the single family Geastraceae, commonly known as "earthstars", which older classifications had placed in Lycoperdales, or Pha ...

', are widespread in both

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

and

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

regions. The best known members include the earthball ''

Scleroderma citrinum ''Scleroderma citrinum'', commonly known as the common earthball, pigskin poison puffball, or common earth ball, is the most common species of earthball in the UK and occurs widely in woods, heathland and in short grass from autumn to winter. ''S ...

'', the dye fungus ''

Pisolithus tinctorius ''Pisolithus arhizus'' is a widespread Sclerodermataceae, earth-ball like fungus, which may in fact be several closely related species. Common names include dead man's foot and dyeball. It is known in Australia as the horse dung fungus, in Sout ...

'' and the ' prettymouths' of the genus ''

Calostoma ''Calostoma'' is a genus of 29 species of gasteroid fungi in the suborder Sclerodermatineae. Like other gasteroid fungi, ''Calostoma'' do not have the basidiospore, spore discharge mechanism associated with typical lamella (mycology), gilled fung ...

''.

Description

Fruit-bodies are mostly epigenous (above ground), rarely hypogeous (underground), more or less spherical in shape, without a stem or with an irregular root-like stem. The peridium (outer wall) is mostly simple, rarely 2-layered, firm, rarely thin, membranous, breaking open irregularly or in lobes or decaying, revealing 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 ...

. The gleba typically has sharply defined

basidia A basidium () is a microscopic sporangium (a spore-producing structure) found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi which are also called tertiary mycelium, developed from secondary mycelium. Tertiary mycelium is highly-c ...

-bearing sectors, which are partitioned from one another by sterile veins, and in which the basidia are regularly scattered through the tissue. The gleba, which is brown or white in young specimens, turns dark purple to brownish purple in age, and crumbles to a powder of spores and disintegrating tissues at maturity. The basidia are roughly clavate (club-shaped).

Spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

are brown, roughly spherical in shape, thick-walled, with spines or warts, or with a network-like appearance. Spores are spread by wind, by predators, or are washed into the soil by rainwater.

Habitat

Taxa are found growing on the ground or associated with rotten wood, and are mostly

ectomycorrhizal An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobi ...

with woody plants.

Genera

*''

'' - "prettymouths" *''

Chlorogaster ''Chlorogaster'' (literally '' green stomach'') is a genus of fungi thought to belong to the Sclerodermataceae family, but this has been not molecularly confirmed. A monotypic genus, it contains the single mycorrhizal A mycorrhiza (from ...

'' *''

Favillea ''Favillea'' is a genus of fungi within the Sclerodermataceae The Sclerodermataceae are a family of fungi in the order Boletales, containing several genera of unusual fungi that little resemble boletes. Taxa, which include species commonly kno ...

'' *''

Horakiella ''Horakiella'' is a genus of fungi within the Sclerodermataceae family that contains the two species ''H.clelandii'' and ''H. watarrkana''. The genus name of ''Horakiella'' is in honour of Egon Horak (born 1937) is an Austrian mycologist My ...

'' *''

Pisolithus ''Pisolithus'' is a genus of fungi within the family Sclerodermataceae ( suborder Sclerodermatineae). The type species, ''P. arenarius'', is now known to be synonymous with ''P. arhizus''. Species As accepted by Species Fungorum; * ...

'' - including ''P. tinctorius'' (dyemaker's puffball) *''

Scleroderma Scleroderma is a group of autoimmune diseases that may result in changes to the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs. The disease can be either localized to the skin or involve other organs, as well. Symptoms may include areas of ...

'' - "earthballs" The genera ''

'', ''

'' and ''

'' are known to be

Taxonomy

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 ...

analysis places the Sclerodermataceae in the bolete clade. Older analysis suggests that the Sclerodermataceae (including the genera ''Scleroderma'' and '' Veligaster''), the

Pisolithaceae ''Pisolithus'' is a genus of fungi within the family Sclerodermataceae (suborder Sclerodermatineae). The type species, ''P. arenarius'', is now known to be synonymous with ''P. arhizus''. Species As accepted by Species Fungorum; *'' Pi ...

(''Pisolithus''), the

Astraeaceae Diplocystaceae (alternatively spelled Diplocystidaceae or Diplocystidiaceae) is a family of fungi in the Boletales order. The family was described by mycologist Hanns Kreisel Hanns Kreisel (16 July 1931 – 18 January 2017) was a German mycologi ...

(''

Astraeus In Greek mythology, Astraeus () or Astraios (Ancient Greek: Ἀστραῖος means "starry"') was an astrological deity. Some also associate him with the winds, as he is the father of the four Anemoi (wind deities), by his wife, Eos. Etymolog ...

''), Calostomataceae (''

''), and the new families

Gyroporaceae The Gyroporaceae are a family of fungi in the order Boletales. The family is monogeneric, containing the single genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well ...

('' Gyroporus'') and

Boletinellaceae Boletinellaceae are a small family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterized by small pores on the underside of the cap rather than gills. Though in the order Boletales, research shows they and Gyroporaceae are more closely related to ...

(''

Boletinellus ''Boletinellus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Boletinellaceae (suborder Sclerodermatineae of the Boletales). The genus was first described by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill William Alphonso Murrill (October 13, 1869 – De ...

'' and ''

Phlebopus ''Phlebopus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Boletinellaceae (suborder Sclerodermatineae of the Boletales order). The genus has a widespread distribution in subtropical and pantropical regions, and contains 12 species. The species are saprob ...

''), should form a new

suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

, the Sclerodermatineae.Binder M, Bresinsky A. (2002). Derivation of a polymorphic lineage of Gasteromycetes from boletoid ancestors. ''Mycologia'' 94(1): 85-98.

Gallery

Image: Scleroderma citrinum LC0159.jpg, ''

'' Image: Scleroderma geaster.jpg, ''

Scleroderma geaster Scleroderma is a group of autoimmune diseases that may result in changes to the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs. The disease can be either localized to the skin or involve other organs, as well. Symptoms may include areas of ...

'' Image: Calostoma_cinnabarina.jpg, '' Calostoma cinnabarina'' Image: Pisolithus arrhizus.jpg, '' Pisolithus arhizus''

References

External links

Index Fungorum
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2584249 Boletales

Sclerodermataceae The Sclerodermataceae are a family of fungi in the order Boletales, containing several genera of unusual fungi that little resemble boletes. Taxa, which include species commonly known as the ‘hard-skinned puffballs’, ‘ earthballs’, or 'ea ...