Geastrum berkeleyi, or Berkeley's earthstar, is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the genus Geastrum, or earthstar fungi. It can be distinguished from other Geastrum species by the flat bipyramidal shape of the calcium oxalate crystals found on its endoperidium.[1]

Geastrum berkeleyi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Geastrales
Family: Geastraceae
Genus: Geastrum
Species:
G. berkeleyi
Binomial name
Geastrum berkeleyi
Massee (1889)
Geastrum berkeleyi
View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following list
Glebal hymenium
No distinct cap
Spore print is brown
Ecology is saprotrophic
Edibility is inedible

Despite being a very uncommon mushroom, it has a wide geographical distribution, having been documented in Northern and Eastern Europe as well as Eastern Asia.

Distribution

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European countries it is found in include Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland,[2] Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey. In Asia, it can be found in China and Japan.[2]

The species was thought extinct in Poland until it was discovered growing in a reserve near Chęciny.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Krisai, I; Mrazek, Ernst (September 1986). "Calcium oxalate crystals in Geastrum". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 154 (3–4): 325–341. doi:10.1007/bf00990131. S2CID 30524043.
  2. ^ a b c Jaworska, J (2011). "A new record of the rare earthstar Geastrum berkeleyi from the Świętokrzyskie Mts". Acta Mycologica. 46 (1): 75–81. doi:10.5586/am.2011.004. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
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