Scleroderma areolatum

Scleroderma areolatum is a basidiomycete fungus and a member of the genus Scleroderma, or "earth balls".

Scleroderma areolatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Boletales
Family:	Sclerodermataceae
Genus:	Scleroderma
Species:	S. areolatum
Binomial name
Scleroderma areolatum Ehrenb.

Scleroderma areolatum Mycological characteristics
	Glebal hymenium
	No distinct cap
	Hymenium attachment is not applicable
	Lacks a stipe
	Spore print is purple-black to olive
	Ecology is mycorrhizal
	Edibility is poisonous

Description

They are usually 1–5 centimetres (3⁄8–2 in) in diameter, and grow individually or in small groups.^[1]

Like most members of Scleroderma, S. areolatum resembles but is only distantly related to the giant puffball. It can be distinguished from the giant puffball by cutting it in half; the puffball will have a solid, denser middle, with no signs of a developing cap mushroom.

Habitat

They are commonly found in deciduous forests, in neutral soil.

Toxicity

They are poisonous,^[2] and ingestion can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, and in larger quantities, fainting.