Pisolithus arhizus (Scop.) Rauschert
dye-maker's false puffball
Sclerodermataceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
dye-maker's false puffball
Sclerodermataceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
Photograph
Species Information
Summary:
Features include 1) a large spherical to pear-shaped fruitbody, which develops a thick rooting base or stem, 2) peridium (skin) that is thin, brittle, usually "yellowish, purplish, olive-black, or brown", often lustrous, soon rupturing irregularly or flaking off to reveal the spore mass, 3) the spore mass containing hundreds of 0.2-0.4cm hard seed-like structures in a sticky dark substance that dries out, the whole spore mass eventually a crumbly mass of brown spores, 4) the lower part of the fruitbody typically persistent, with coarse greenish yellow to brownish fibers attached, 5) growth in waste places and other habitats, and 6) round spiny spores. Stains on the hands and clothing are to be expected when handling this fungus. It can be used as a dye producing mostly browns and golds, but also blacks and dark blues, depending on the mordants used and the type of soil in which it is found, (Arora). It is also used in Europe as an aromatic seasoning when unripe ("the Bohemian truffle"), and in China it is used medicinally, (Arora). Pisolithus arhizus also known as Pisolithus tinctorius and Polysaccum pisocarpium.
Odor:
"mild to aromatic or unpleasant, depending on the age", (Arora), strong and pleasant mushroomy (Lincoff(1)), mild when young, unpleasant when old (Miller)
Taste:
sweetish (Lincoff(1))
Microscopic:
spores 7-12 x 7-12 microns, round, warty or spiny, (Arora), with coalesced spines (Kope), spores 7-9 microns in diameter excluding spines, round, coarsely spiny to warty, brown, (Buczacki)
Notes:
It is reported that based on intersterility tests and spores, there may be at least 3 biological species that fall under this name, the first from South Africa, the second from Australia, and the third from North America (including BC, MA, SC), Europe (France), and Australia, (Kope). It is very widely distributed but especially common in CA and the Pacific Northwest, (Arora). Oregon State University has collections from WA, OR, GA, MI, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Brazil, Morocco, India and Japan. The University of British Columbia has collections from BC, WA, FL, and LA.
EDIBILITY
not recommended (Arora), not edible (Phillips)
Habitat and Range
Habitat
single, widely scattered, or in small groups "on or along roads, in waste places, and in hardpacked, poor, sandy, or gravelly soil", mainly late summer and fall, forms mycorrhizal associations with a variety of trees and shrubs, (Arora), "in sandy or well drained soils, old lawns, roadsides, and pine woods, July to October", (Phillips), "frequent in dry pinewoods, beneath juniper in dunes, in grassland, and in the remains of charcoal kilns", spring to late fall, (Lincoff(1))
Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Calodon geogenius (Fr.) P. Karst.