Earthstar - Geastrum saccatum

This is a bucket list fungus for me! I have been looking for them for years, but never found any...until today! I was walking around the neighborhood with my kids, saw a cluster of these mushrooms growing in some mulch, and then ran home to get my camera.

Habitat: Growing in mulch in a roadside garden bed with deciduous and coniferous trees.

comments (2)

morpheme

Lion

most likely to be Geastrum saccatum. One of the features of the species is the slightly depressed ring around the pore on the top, which I can definitely see on your examples. Another close species has the spore sack on a short stalk, which doesn't appear to be the case here. Fortunately there aren't tons of earthstar species to have to sort out. And yes.. they are super cool. I get the warm and fuzzies every time I see one. Posted 3 years ago, modified 3 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks so much! I've updated the ID. They are so cool -- kind of like puffball flowers! Posted 3 years ago

The Rounded earthstar

''Geastrum saccatum'', commonly known as the rounded earthstar, is a species of mushroom belonging in the Geastrum genus. It is found in North America and Europe and is found growing on rotting wood. It is considered inedible by mushroomers because of its bitter taste. It is a common mushroom, but collections are at their peak during late summer.

Info 14 0

Similar species: Geastrales

Species identified by Christine Young