Geastrum berkeleyi

Geastrum berkeleyi, or Berkeley's earthstar, is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the genus Geastrum, or earthstar fungi. It can be distinguished from other Geastrum species by the flat bipyramidal shape of the calcium oxalate crystals found on its endoperidium.^[1]

Geastrum berkeleyi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Geastrales
Family:	Geastraceae
Genus:	Geastrum
Species:	G. berkeleyi
Binomial name
Geastrum berkeleyi Massee (1889)

Geastrum berkeleyi Mycological characteristics
	Glebal hymenium
	No distinct cap
	Spore print is brown
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is inedible

Despite being a very uncommon mushroom, it has a wide geographical distribution, having been documented in Northern and Eastern Europe as well as Eastern Asia.

Distribution

European countries it is found in include Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland,^[2] Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey. In Asia, it can be found in China and Japan.^[2]

The species was thought extinct in Poland until it was discovered growing in a reserve near Chęciny.^[2]