Geastraceae

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How to read a taxobox
Earthstars

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Homobasidiomycetes
Order: Phallales
Family: Geastraceae
Genera
  • Astraeus
  • Colomyces
  • Geaster
  • Geastrum
  • Myriostoma
  • Sphaerobolus

and about 2 others

The earthstars are the family Geastraceae of gasterocarpic basidiomycetes (mushrooms). It includes the genera Geastrum and Myriostoma. About 60 species are classified in this family, divided among 8 genera.

Older classifications place this family in the order Lycoperdales, but more recently they have been placed in Phallales.

One member of this family, Sphaerobolus stellatus, is a nuisance organism in landscapes known as "shotgun fungus" or "cannonball fungus", which colonizes wood-based mulches and may throw black spore-containing globs onto nearby painted surfaces.

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