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[ Basidiomycota > Boletales > Sclerodermataceae > Scleroderma . . . ] Scleroderma hypogaeum by Michael Kuo, 19 June 2025 This western, conifer-associated species of Scleroderma usually grows underground, unlike the other members of the genus. It features a fairly thick skin, a smooth outer surface, and large spores that are crazily spiny and reticulate. It is very similar to Scleroderma michiganense, but the latter species grows above ground under hardwoods in eastern North America, has a finely scaly surface, and usually generates a fairly substantial pseudostem. Scleroderma arenicola is a synonym. Thanks to Laura Wells for collecting, documenting, and preserving Scleroderma hypogaeum for study; her collection is deposited in The Herbarium of Michael Kuo. Description: Ecology: Mycorrhizal with conifers; usually growing underground or half-buried; originally described from Oregon (Zeller 1922); distributed in western North America from Oregon to Colorado and montane Mexico, with precise range limits not clearly established; summer, fall, and over winter in warmer climates. The illustrated and described collection is from California. Fruiting Body: 2–5 cm across; round or cushion-shaped; surface whitish to yellowish or brownish, bald or very finely fibrillose in places; bruising slightly yellow or reddish; rind 1–3 mm thick; with a vaguely pinched base, but without a pseudostem; attached to white rhizomorphs; interior fleshy and white at first, becoming grayish and, eventually, purple-black and powdery. Chemical Reactions: KOH on surface of dried specimens reddish. Odor: Not distinctive. Microscopic Features: Spores 18-25 µ (including ornamentation); round or nearly so; densely spiny and reticulate, with complex, often curved spines 1-4 µ long. Microscopic Features: Spores 12–17 µm excluding ornamentation; globose or subglobose; densely spiny with narrow spines 3–5 µm long; reticulate; golden brown in KOH. Peridial hyphae 3–7 µm wide; clamp connections present. REFERENCES: S. M. Zeller, 1922. (Guzmán, 1970; States, 1990; Sims, Watling & Jeffries, 1995; Guzmán et al., 2013.) Herb. Kuo 07031101. This site contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms. |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2025, June). Scleroderma hypogaeum. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: /scleroderma_hypogaeum.html |