Geastrum britannicum

Genus of fungus

Geastrum britannicum

Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Fungi
Division:  | Basidiomycota
Class:  | Agaricomycetes
Order:  | Geastrales
Family:  | Geastraceae
Genus:  | Geastrum
Species:  |

G. britannicum

Binomial name
Geastrum britannicum

J.C. Zamora (2015)

Geastrum britannicum is a fungal species in the family Geastraceae. Its recommended English name is vaulted earthstar.[1] Like other earthstars, the basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are initially globose. Their thick outer skin splits open at maturity to expose the puffball-like spore sac surrounded by the split rays of the outer skin. In the vaulted earthstar, the rays split apart and form an arch, raising the spore sac upwards.

## Taxonomy

[edit]

Geastrum britannicum was described in 2015 from England by Spanish mycologist Juan Carlos Zamora,[2] based on a holotype found on a roadside verge in Cockley Cley under pine trees in 2000 by Jonathan Revett,[3] with paratypes from New Milton and Surlingham.[2] The species was already the subject of research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where more than a dozen additional collections had been studied from England and Wales, the earliest dating back to 1994.[4] The new species had previously been confused with G. quadrifidum and G. fornicatum, both of which have a similar vaulted or arched appearance.[4] Geastrum britannicum was distinguished on the basis of morphology and DNA sequence analysis.[2][4]

## Distribution

[edit]

The fungus has proved to be very widespread in England and Wales.[4] It was more recently found in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.[5] Since the species is not known to have occurred in Europe before 1994, it may be a recent arrival.[4][5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Holden L. "English names for fungi". British Mycological Society. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
2. ^ a b c J.C. Zamora; F.D. Calonge; M.P. Martín (2015). "Integrative taxonomy reveals an unexpected diversity in Geastrum section Geastrum (Geastrales, Basidiomycota)". Persoonia. 34: 130–165\. doi:10.3767/003158515X687443. PMC 4510276. PMID 26240450.
3. ^ Dan Hyde (29 March 2015). "New mushroom species found in Norfolk (don't eat it)". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
4. ^ a b c d e Spooner B, Henrici A, Ainsworth AM (2015). "Geastrum britannicum \- a surprisingly common new species in Britain". Field Mycology. 16 (2): 54–57\. doi:10.1016/j.fldmyc.2015.04.007.
5. ^ a b Dvořák D (2022). "Geastrum britannicum – a new species of the Czech mycobiota". Mykologické Listy (151): 29‒34.

Taxon identifiers

Geastrum britannicum|

* Wikidata: Q19787362
* CoL: 6JZ8Q
* GBIF: 7743509
* iNaturalist: 1028907
* IndexFungorum: 810500
* MycoBank: 810500
* NBN: NHMSYS0021125206
* NCBI: 1704283
* Open Tree of Life: 5689067
* SpeciesFungorum: 810500