''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, which, following a restructuring of fungal taxonomy brought about by molecular phylogeny, has been split; the puffballs, ''Calvatia spp.'' are now placed in the family Agaricaceae of the order

Agaricales The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, alo ...

. Most species in the genus ''Calvatia'' are edible when young, though some are best avoided, such as ''

Calvatia fumosa ''Gastropila fumosa'' is a species of puffball in the family Agaricaceae. It was first described as ''Calvatia fumosa'' by American mycologist Sanford Myron Zeller in 1947, and later transferred to '' Gastropila'' in 1976. Some authors place it ...

'', which has a very pungent odor. The name ''Calvatia'' derives from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

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

Taxonomy

''Calvatia'' was circumscribed by Swedish mycologist

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö ( Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquire ...

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 rea ...

, 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 Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group rang ...

, 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