Scleroderma-aerolatum_5

Description:

Scleroderma areolatum Ehrenb., syn.: Scleroderma lycoperdoides Schw.Leopard Earthball, DE: Getupfter KartoffelbovistaSlo.: mekinasta trdokonicaDat.: July 26. 2017Lat.: 46.36143 Long.: 13.70214Code: Bot_1077/2017_DSC8400Habitat: moderately inclined mountain slope, east aspect; mixed wood (edge of it), Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies dominant trees; calcareous ground; on damp ground covered by thick layer of rotten wood and leave debris; mostly in shade, exposed to direct rain; average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevation 615 m (2.020 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.Substratum: thick layer of rotten wood debris and leaves on soil.Place: Lower Trenta valley, right bank of river Soa; between villages Soa and Trenta; near Trenta 2b cottage, East Julian Alps, Posoje, Slovenia EC.Comments: Several species of Scleroderma are similar to this find and difficult to be reliable determined to species level without microscopy. Such is also Scleroderma aerolatum. Observation of its spores makes determination rather easy. It is the only species in this genus, which has spores with very coarse and dense spines without reticulation on their surface. Whether this species is mycorrhizal or may be also saprophytic is yet unclear. Most authors consider it mycorrhizal with oak, some also with other trees and some claim also its saprophytic life since it can be found also in grassland. If this find is mycorrhizal, then it is with Fagus sylvatica or Picea abies, but not with Quercus. There are no Quercus trees in this region. Its mycelia threads looked rather saprophytic in this find. Description: Growing gregariously, more than 10 fruitbodies found; size of sporocarps from 2.3 cm to 3.8 cm and up to 2.5 cm high; stipe rudimentary or absent, peridium thin, flexible and strong; when cut it becomes reddish; smell unpleasant, on chemistry, metal or welding?; taste not determined; 5% KOH reaction on peridium distinctly dark red; spores on mass gray-brown, eventually with some green tint, oac736, but darker.Spores coarsely spiny, surrounded by a translucent mass. Spines up to 2 microns high. Dimensions: (8,4) 9,4 - 12,2 (13,1) x (8,1) 9,3 - 11,8 (12,9) microns; Q = 1 - 1,09 (1,1); N = 24; Me = 10,9 x 10,5 microns; Qe = 1. Olympus CH20, NEA 100x/1.25, magnification 1.000 x, oil (spores); in water, fresh material. AmScope MA500 digital camera.Ref.: (1) G.J. Krieglsteiner (Hrsg.), Die Grosspilze Baden-Wrttembergs, Band 2., Ulmer (2000), p 174. (2) S. Buczacki, Collins Fungi Guide, Collins (2012), p 428. (3) www.mushroomexpert.com/scleroderma_areolatum.html (July 26. 2017) Kuo (4) www.first-nature.com/fungi/scleroderma-areolatum.php (July 26. 2017) (5) R. Phillips, Mushrooms, Macmillan (2006), p 333.(6) M. Bon, Parey's Buch der Pilze, Kosmos (2005), p 302.(7) J. Breitenbach, F. Kraenzlin, Eds., Fungi of Switzerland, Vol.2. Verlag Mykologia (1986), p 384.