E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Summary:
Features include 1) a spherical to somewhat flattened or somewhat pear-shaped fruitbody that is whitish becoming yellowish or brownish, staining reddish when rubbed or injured, 2) the surface smooth when young with veins on sides, eventually cracking at the top to form large irregular yellowish gray scales that are flat or somewhat pyramidal, 3) a hard covering 0.1-0.3cm thick, white in cross-section but staining reddish when cut, breaking into 6-8 star-like lobes and opening out at least somewhat, 4) stem absent or as a root-like rhizomorphic base up to 8cm long, 5) growth in woods or in sandy soil in arid areas, and 6) spiny spores without a reticulum. This is a common Scleroderma in the Pacific Northwest. Guzman specifies that this species is not S. cepa Pers. sensu Demoulin 1968 who interpreted the species as having large spores (10.4-16.9 microns), the taxon identified by Guzman(3) as S. albidum. Coccia et al. in 1990 separated S. flavidum (here considered a synonym) by "a peridium with two microscopically distinguished layers, the internal layer made up of large hyphae", (in Sims).

Collections were examined from WA, OR, ON, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, NC, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, TX, VA, WI, Cuba, Mexico, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, South Africa, India, Australia, and New Zealand, (Guzman), and Germany and the Philippines, (Sims). It was reported from BC (in Redhead). There are collections from BC at the Pacific Forestry Centre and the University of British Columbia.

Outer Surface:
1.5-4cm across when fresh, 3-6cm across when opened out, shape spherical, nearly spherical, or somewhat pear-shaped; whitish when young, becoming yellowish with orange-yellow tints, cherry red when injured or when cracking begins, the scales are yellowish gray; when young smooth, with veins on the sides, sometimes slightly pubescent [downy], when mature, it cracks on the apical part forming large irregular scales that are flat or somewhat pyramidal; peridium [covering layer] 0.05-0.2cm thick fresh or dried (presumably usually > 0.1cm as it is included only in the section of the key with thickness > 0.1cm), corky, rigid, and brittle, whitish to colored as surface, hard in the inner layer to soft in the outer layer, staining reddish when cut; opening typically star-like: the peridium breaks into 6-8 segments, revealing the spore mass, and after the spore mass disappears completely (from wind, rain, etc.), the inner side of the rays is smooth and colored as the exterior, (Guzman), 1.5-9cm across, nearly spherical, flattened, or lobed; "whitish when young, becoming straw-colored to yellowish brown or leather brown, turning deep pinky-brown if rubbed; smooth becoming very finely cracked and scaly, especially on the top where exposed to light"; peridium 0.1-0.3cm thick, "when fresh, hard, quite tough", "white in cross-section, becoming reddish or pinkish brown when cut", (Phillips), surface "whitish or pallid, soon becoming buff, yellowish, straw-colored, or brownish, often staining reddish or vinaceous when rubbed (especially the underside), then discoloring brownish; smooth when young, often becoming areolate (cracked to form scales)" when old or when exposed to light (especially on top); "eventually rupturing irregularly or splitting at the top into lobes which may peel back slightly", (Arora), peridium scaly to coarsely cracked, (Sims), 2-6cm across, peridium 0.1-0.2cm thick, yellow to orange, smooth but when mature forming large irregular scales over top by cracking of surface; opening in star-like fashion, (Ramsey), 3-4cm across, more or less spherical to onion-shaped, peridium fairly thick (more than 0.1cm), leathery, tough, when mature rupturing in a +/- star-like pattern at top, (Buczacki)

Spore Mass:
whitish, fleshy and compact when young; when mature dark-colored, turning dark violet and finally violaceous olive-gray in the powdery phase; with yellowish filaments that are very thin and not easily differentiated, (Guzman), "white and firm when young, soon becoming black or purple-black, then paler or browner and powdery", (Phillips), mouse-gray (Sims), violet with yellow threads (Ramsey), white at first, firm, then purple-brown, powdery, (Buczacki)

Stem:
sessile when young or with a spongy rhizomorphic base formed by calcified mycelium that sometimes can be up to 8cm long, the mycelial base colored as the surface of the fruitbody, (Guzman), no stem or almost no stem, "attached by a thick mass of tough, hairy mycelium", (Phillips), base not extended but rhizoidal, (Ramsey), stemless "or tapering below into indefinite, very short, thick, rooting, stem-like structure", (Buczacki)

Odor:
weak, of rubber, (Guzman), none (Phillips)

Taste:
not appreciable (Guzman)

Microscopic:
spores (7.5)8.8-12(13.6) x (7.5)8.8-12(13.6) microns, including the spines that are 1-2 microns long, in KOH yellowish with colorless spines; basidia not observed; clamp connections absent, (Guzman), spores 7-10 x 7-10 microns, round, spiny but not reticulate, (Phillips), spores 11-13 microns excluding spines, round, dark brown; no capillitium, (Buczacki)