Scleroderma citrinum

File:Scleroderma citrinum.jpg

Conservation status

Secure

Scientific classification
| Kingdom:  | Fungi

|

Division:  | Basidiomycota

Class:  | Homobasidiomycetes

Order:  | Boletales

Family:  | Sclerodermataceae

Genus:  | Scleroderma

Species:  | S. citrinum

Binomial name
Scleroderma citrinum
Pers.

Template:Mycomorphbox Scleroderma citrinum, known as the "pigskin poison puffball,"[1] "common earthball,"[2] or "common earth ball,"[3] is the most common species of Earth Ball in the UK and occurs widely in woods, heathland and in short grass from Autumn to Winter. Scleroderma citrinum has two synonyms, Scleroderma aurantium (Vaill.) and Scleroderma vulgare Horn.[4]

Earth Balls are superficially similar to, and considered look-alikes of the edible Puff Balls, but whereas the Puff Ball has a single opening on top through which the spores are dispersed, the Earth Ball just breaks up to release the spores. Moreover, Scleroderma citrinum has much firmer flesh and a dark gleba (interior) much earlier in development than puffballs. Scleroderma citrinum has no stem but is attached to the soil by mycelial cords. The peridium, or outer wall, is thick and firm, usually ochre yellow externally with irregular warts.

The Earth ball may be parasitized by Boletus parasiticus.

Ingestion of scleroderma citrinum can cause gastrointestinal distress in humans and animals, and some individuals may experience lacrimation, rhinitis and rhinorrhea, and conjunctivitis from exposure to its spores.[5][6]

## Notes[edit | edit source]

1. ↑ (January 2005.) "Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge: Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan, January 2005." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, p. 195, via library.fws.gov. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
2. ↑ "List of Recommended English Names For Fungi in the UK." (Website.) Fungi 4 Schools, by the British Mycological Society. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
3. ↑ Falandysz, Jerzy. (March 2002.) "Mercury in mushrooms and soil of the Tarnobrzeska Plain, south-eastern Poland." (Abstract only via National Insitutes of Health website). Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, Toxic/hazardous substances & environmental engineering, 2002, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 343-352, ISSN 1093-4529. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
4. ↑ Pekşen, Aysun and Gürsel Karaca (2003.) "Macrofungi of Samsun Province." Turkish Journal of Botany, 27: 173-184. (Full text online.) Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
5. ↑ (October 2006.) "Reflections on Mushroom Poisoning – Part III." (Newsletter.) Fungifama: The Newsletter of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society, via svims.ca. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
6. ↑ Hoffman, Ursula. "Poisonous Mushrooms in Northeastern North America" (Website.) NorthEast Mycological Federation, Inc. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.

## References[edit | edit source]

* Buckzacki, Stefan (1982). Mushrooms and Toadstools (Collins Gem Guide). Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-00-458812-6. Unknown parameter `|coauthors=` ignored (help)
* Wakefield, Elsie M. (1964). The Observer's Book of Common Fungi (Observer's Pocket Series No. 19) (3rd printing ed.). Frederic Warne & Co Ltd. ISBN 0914140796 Check `|isbn=` value: checksum (help).

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