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Calostoma rodwayi |

A stalked puffball with the stem made up of strands of brown, seaweed-like mycelium. The puffball top or peridium is a rich brown. Its outer skin [exoperidium] flakes off in irregular patches, unlike C. fuscum whose outer skin comes off as an entire little cap. In the centre of the peridium is a raised, brilliant scarlet-orange "mouth", in some specimens resembling a tiny gingerbread man.
Peridium like a depressed globe. 10-20 mm diameter. 3 layered, the outer layer of gelatinised mycelium, the inner layer rather tough, brown with black warts. Spores are released from the central 5-7 lobed, scarlet mouth. The spore sac inside of the peridium hangs from the mouth like an inverted bubble.
Stem 30-60 mm high, 10-20 mm wide.
In wet native woodland or tropical rainforest.
Aberdeen, J.E.C. [1979]. An Introduction to the Mushrooms, Toadstools and Larger Fungi of Queensland. Queensland Naturalists' Club. p 9.
Grgurinovic, C., & Mallett, K. [Eds.] [1996]. Fungi of Australia. Volume 1A: Introduction - Classification. ABRS/CSIRO, Australia. p. xxi, 196 info


Last modified on 28 May 2001
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