Geastrum sp. (Geastrum sp.)
The species of Geastrum are known colloquially as earthstars. Each mature fruitbody consists of a puffball-like spore sac atop a star-like base. Some species are easy to identify visually, others are not.
Before you started looking at microscopic details, some of the questions you'd ask when trying to identify a Geastrum are:
- Does the spore sac sit directly on the base or is it held up by a stem (and if so, what is its size)?
- Are the arms of the base hygroscopic (in other words, do they fold inwards in dry conditions and open out in moist conditions)?
- Does soil/debris adhere tightly to the undersides of the basal arms or are they free of soil/debris (or at least where any soil/debris is easily removed by light brushing)?
- What is the nature of the apical mouth, through which the spores puff out? Two examples are a (1) conical, strongly pleated mouth (as shown here: http://www.cpbr.gov.au/fungi/images-captions/geastrum-sp-ostiole-0144.html) and (2) a fibrillose mouth (http://www.cpbr.gov.au/fungi/images-captions/geastrum-sp-ostiole-0143.html).
You'd also note colour, texture and size.
Geastrum sp. is listed in the following regions:
Canberra & Southern Tablelands | Southern Highlands | South Coast | Central West NSW | Loddon Mallee
Species information
- Geastrum sp. Scientific name
- Geastrum sp. Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 976.1m Recorded at altitude
- Machine learning
