''Lycoperdon'' is a genus of
puffball
Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that (when mature) bursts on contact or impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores into the surrounding area. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass sever ...
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
classified within the now-obsolete order
Lycoperdales, as the type genus which, following a restructuring of fungal taxonomy brought about by
molecular phylogeny, has been split. ''Lycoperdon'' is now placed in the family
Agaricaceae of the order
Agaricales.
The scientific name has been created with Greek words (''lycos'' meaning ''wolf'' and ''perdomai'' meaning ''to fart'') and based on several European dialects in which the mushroom name sounds like ''wolf-farts''.
Most species are edible, ranging from mild to tasting distinctly of shrimp.
Species
* ''
Lycoperdon caudatum'' (Syn. ''Lycoperdon pedicellatum'')
J.Schröt.
* ''
Lycoperdon curtisii''
* ''
Lycoperdon echinatum'' Pers.
* ''
Lycoperdon ericaceum'' (Syn. ''Lycoperdon muscorum'')
* ''
Lycoperdon ericaceum'', var. ''subareolatum''
* ''
Lycoperdon lambinonii'' Demoulin 1972
* ''
Lycoperdon lividum'' (Syn. ''Lycoperdon spadiceum'') Pers. 1809
* ''
Lycoperdon mammiforme'' Pers. 1801
* ''
Lycoperdon marginatum'' (Syn. ''Lycoperdon candidum'')
Vittadini
* ''
Lycoperdon molle''
* ''
Lycoperdon nigrescens'' (Syn. ''Lycoperdon foetidum'')
Bonord
* ''
Lycoperdon norvegicum''
Demoulin 1971
* ''
Lycoperdon ovoidisporum''
* ''
Lycoperdon perlatum'' (Syn. ''Lycoperdon gemmatum'')
* ''
Lycoperdon pratense''
* ''
Lycoperdon pyriforme''
Schaeff. 1774
* ''
Lycoperdon pulcherrimum'' Berk. & M.A. Curtis
* ''
Lycoperdon rupicola''
* ''
Lycoperdon subincarnatum''
* ''
Lycoperdon subumbrinum''
* ''
Lycoperdon umbrinum
''Lycoperdon umbrinum'', commonly known as the umber-brown puffball, is a type of Puffball mushroom in the genus ''Lycoperdon''. It is a saprophyte, and grows mainly in coniferous forests. It is found in China, Europe, Africa, and North America ...
''
See also
*
List of Agaricales genera
*
List of Agaricaceae genera
References
External links
*
*
Agaricales genera
Agaricaceae
Puffballs
{{agaricaceae-stub