| Major Groups > Puffballs & Others > Morganella pyriformis |
|
Morganella pyriformis [ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Lycoperdaceae > Morganella . . . ] by Michael Kuo George W. Bush (1997, The Puffballs of Texas and Adjacent Canada) reports finding Morganella pyriformis growing on his head, confirming the restricted habitat of the species, which always favors dead wood. Other distinguishing features include the fact that it is only finely spiny, with spines that usually wear off; and the long white mycelial strings attached to its stem, which is often pinched off at the base. Morganella pyriformis is edible when young and fresh. The flesh of young specimens is white and fairly firm; do not eat any specimens in which the flesh has begun to turn yellow or brownish. Desicated, putrefied, shredded, tattered, and otherwise foul specimens of Morganella pyriformis are often encountered by morel hunters in the spring (see the bottom illustration for an example), since the little mushrooms have amazingly tough skins that can survive for months, or even over winter. In fact morel hunters sometimes misidentify specimens in this condition as something I (or anyone else) would care about, excitedly sending photographs by e-mail. (I am just kidding about the caring part; actually, I love receiving fungal photos, regardless of what is depicted in them.) Description: Ecology: Saprobic on the dead wood of hardwoods or conifers; growing in dense clusters, or scattered; typically in fall and winter, but often fruiting in spring and summer; very widely distributed and common in North America. Fruiting body: Shaped like an inverted pear, or more or less round; 1.5-5 cm wide; 2.5-5 cm high; dry; often covered with tiny white spines when young and fresh, but the spines usually disappearing by maturity; typically with a pinched-off stem base; by maturity developing a central rupture through which spores are liberated by rain drops and wind currents; whitish to yellowish brown; with a white, fleshy interior at first; later with yellowish to olive granular flesh and eventually filled with brownish spore dust. Microscopic Features: Spores 3.5-4.5 µ; round; smooth. Lycoperdon pyriforme is a (very recent) synomym. REFERENCES: (Schaeffer) Krüger & Kreisel, 2003. (Coker & Couch, 1928; Smith, 1951; Ramsey, 1978 / 2003; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Metzler & Metzler, 1992; Horn, Kay & Abel, 1993; Evenson, 1997; Barron, 1999.)
Preliminary DNA research conducted by Krüger et al. (2001) suggested the genus Lycoperdon, which held Morganella pyriformis, was "polyphyletic" (Mycologese for "They don't all fit in there!"), and that Lycoperdon pyriforme was one of the black sheep. The authors pointed out that, even without DNA testing, the species was distinct from other members of Lycoperdon in several features, including its habitat on wood, its mycelial strings, and other nonLycoperdonish things. In a subsequent publication (2003), the mushroom was officially moved to Morganella. Obviously, at the time of this writing (2005), it will be treated as "Lycoperdon pyriforme" in field guides. See: Krüger et al. (2001). The Lycoperdales. A molecular approach to the systematics of some gasteroid mushrooms. Mycologia 93: 947-957; Krüger, D. & Kreisel, H. (2003). Proposing Morganella subgen. Apioperdon subgen. nov. for the puffball Lycoperdon pyriforme. Mycotaxon 86: 169 - 177. Further Online Information: Lycoperdon pyriforme at Tom Volk's Fungi |
© MushroomExpert.Com |
|
Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2004, December). Morganella pyriformis. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/morganella_pyriformis.html |