Geastrum triplex Jungh.
collared earthstar
Geastraceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
collared earthstar
Geastraceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
Species Information
Summary:
{See also Earthstars Table.} Features include 1) a large sized fruitbody, the outer wall splitting into 4-8 non-hygroscopic rays that fold back and bend under the spore case, 2) the pinkish brown inner layer of the rays breaking so that a shallow cup (saucer) is left around the base of the spore case, 3) a stalkless spore case smooth and tan, grayish or reddish brown, with an apical pore area radially fibrillose, broadly conic, delimited by a faint circular depression and often by a pale halo, 4) a spore mass deep brown to smoky brown and powdery, and 5) round warty spores.
Odor:
none (Miller)
Microscopic:
spores 3.5-4.2 microns in diameter excluding ornamentation, 4.5-5.5 microns in diameter including ornamentation, round, "yellow-brown to dark brown, verruculose", "verruculae mostly isolated, blunt-cylindric", 0.4-0.6 microns high, 0.3-0.7 microns wide; capillitial hyphae 3-7 microns wide, pale yellow-brown to almost colorless, "thick-walled, distinctly encrusted over much of their length", "gradually tapered to obtuse or subacute tips", (Pegler), spores 3.5-4.5 x 3.5-4.5 microns, round, warty, (Arora), spores 4-5 x 4-5 microns, round, coarsely verrucose (warty), about 14 warts around circumference, each 0.5-1.2 microns long; basidia about 20 microns long, with long sterigmata; cystidia not seen; capillitial threads up to 7 microns wide, thick-walled, brownish, without septa, (Breitenbach)
Spore Deposit:
dark brown (Breitenbach)
Notes:
Geastrum triplex has been found in mixed forests in ID and OR, (Ramsey). It was reported from BC (in Redhead(5)), and from CA (Arora), and is widely distributed in North America, (Lincoff(2)). It is found in Europe (Breitenbach), and common in Asia (Miller(14)). The species was examined from AZ, and previously reported from AL, AZ, FL, IL, MD, MI, MO, NJ, NM, OH, PA, TX, WA, and WI, Canada, China, Europe, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Mexico and South America, (Bates). There are collections from BC at Pacific Forestry Centre and the University of British Columbia (the latter also with collections from AB, IN, MN).
EDIBILITY
supposedly edible when white inside, but rarely found at that stage, and too tough and fibrous to eat later, (Arora), not edible (Phillips)
Habitat and Range
SIMILAR SPECIES
Geastrum saccatum also has non-hygroscopic rays and stemless spore case with a well-defined apical pore, but the spore case sits in an unbroken depression in the middle of the rays, without a saucer. See also SIMILAR section of Geastrum limbatum and Geastrum rufescens.Habitat
"on well-drained, usually calcareous soil, on humus, leaf litter and compost", in hardwood woodland or in more open areas, (Pegler), single or in groups in humus under trees (usually hardwood), (Arora), several to many, in leaves in open deciduous woods, August to October, (Lincoff(2)), gregarious, more rarely single, on soils in hardwood and mixed hardwood-conifer forests, (Breitenbach), woodland and grassland (Lincoff(1)), usually in small to large, trooping or +/- tufted groups; on rich soil and among leaf litter, usually in hardwood woodland, parks, gardens, "also embankments, road-side verges, sand dunes", very occasionally with conifers; summer to fall, (Buczacki)
Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Trametes americana Overh.
Trametes odorata (Wulfen) Fr.