{{Short description|Genus of fungi}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Geastrum triplex.jpg | image_caption = ''Geastrum triplex'' | image2 = Geastrum saccatum.jpg | image2_caption = ''Geastrum saccatum'' | taxon = Geastrum | authority = Pers. | type_species = ''Geastrum coronatum'' | type_species_authority = Pers. | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = {{center|About 50}} }}
'''''Geastrum''''' (orthographical variant '''''Geaster''''')<ref name="Demoulin 1984"/> is a genus of puffball-like mushrooms in the family Geastraceae. Many species are commonly known as '''earthstars'''.
The name, which comes from ''geo'' meaning ''earth'' and {{lang|la|aster}} meaning ''star'', refers to the behavior of the outer peridium. At maturity, the outer layer of the fruiting body splits into segments which turn outward creating a star-like pattern on the ground. The inner peridium is called a spore sac. In some species, the outer peridium splits from a middle layer, causing the spore sac to arch off the ground. If the outer peridium opens when wet and closes when dry, it is described as hygroscopic.
In some species, the inner peridium is borne on a stalk or pedicel. The columella is a column-like clump of sterile tissue found inside the inner peridium. The network of fertile tissue inside the inner peridium, the capillitium, arises from the columella. This is where basidia and basidiospores are produced. The mouth in most species of "earth-stars" is quite prominent, often arising as a small cone at the apex of the inner peridium. It may be even or sulcate (grooved).<ref name="Johnson 1928"/>
They are generally not toxic but considered non-edible due to their fibrous texture in the mature stage at which they are generally found.
==Species== Although the ''Dictionary of the Fungi'' (2008) estimated roughly 50 species in ''Geastrum'',<ref name="Kirk 2008"/> a more recent estimate (2014) suggests that there may be up to 120 species.<ref name="Zamora 2014"/> ''Geastrum coronatum'' Pers. has been proposed as the conserved type for the genus.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zamora|first=J.C.|title=Proposal to conserve the name Geastrum (Basidiomycota, Geastrales) with a conserved type|journal=Taxon|volume=63 | issue = 3 |pages=679–680|doi=10.12705/633.22}}</ref> Some similar species that are otherwise difficult to differentiate using classical morphological features (such as ''G. triplex'', ''G. saccatum'', and ''G. lageniforme'') can be identified using chemical spot tests that detect phenoloxidase enzymatic activity, a differences in the crystal structure of calcium oxalate deposits<ref name="Zamora 2013"/> or DNA sequences. Species include: {{div col|colwidth=10em}} * ''Geastrum aculeatum''<ref name="da Silva 2013"/> * ''Geastrum albonigrum'' * ''Geastrum andrewsii'' * ''Geastrum argentatum'' * ''Geastrum argentinum'' * ''Geastrum australe'' * ''Geastrum austrominimum'' * ''Geastrum benitoi'' * ''Geastrum britannicum'' * ''Geastrum berkeleyi'' * ''Geastrum bushnellii'' * ''Geastrum campestre'' * ''Geastrum clelandii'' * ''Geastrum congolense'' * ''Geastrum corollinum'' * ''Geastrum coronatum'' * ''Geastrum dissimile'' * ''Geastrum drummondii'' * ''Geastrum dubowskii'' * ''Geastrum echinulatum''<ref name="da Silva 2013"/> * ''Geastrum elegans'' * ''Geastrum elliptice'' * ''Geastrum entomophilum''<ref name="Fazolino 2008"/> * ''Geastrum episcopale'' * ''Geastrum fimbriatum'' * ''Geastrum flexuosum'' * ''Geastrum floriforme'' * ''Geastrum fornicatum'' * ''Geastrum fuscogleba'' * ''Geastrum hieronymi'' * ''Geastrum hirsutum'' * ''Geastrum huneckii'' * ''Geastrum hungaricum'' * ''Geastrum inpaense'' – Brazil<ref name="Cabral 2014"/> * ''Geastrum jurei'' * ''Geastrum kotlabae'' * ''Geastrum kuharii'' * ''Geastrum lageniforme'' * ''Geastrum leptospermum'' * ''Geastrum lilloi''<ref name="Domínguez De Toledo 1996"/> * ''Geastrum litchiforme'' * ''Geastrum lloydianum'' * ''Geastrum magnosporum''<ref name="Crous 2018"/> * ''Geastrum melanocephalum''<ref name="Kasuya 2012"/> * ''Geastrum meridionale'' * ''Geastrum minimum'' * ''Geastrum mirabile'' * ''Geastrum morganii'' * ''Geastrum ovalisporum'' * ''Geastrum oxylobum'' * ''Geastrum papinuttii'' * ''Geastrum parvisporum'' * ''Geastrum parvistriatum'' * ''Geastrum pectinatum'' * ''Geastrum pleosporus''<ref name="Douanla-Meli 2005"/> * ''Geastrum pouzarii'' * ''Geastrum pseudolimbatum'' * ''Geastrum quadrifidum'' * ''Geastrum reticulatum'' * ''Geastrum rhizophorum'' * ''Geastrum rufescens'' * ''Geastrum rugulosum'' * ''Geastrum rusticum'' – Brazil<ref name="Cabral 2014b"/> * ''Geastrum saccatum'' * ''Geastrum schmidelii'' * ''Geastrum schweinitzii'' * ''Geastrum senoretiae''<ref name="Zamora 2014b"/> * ''Geastrum setiferum'' * ''Geastrum smardae'' * ''Geastrum smithii'' * ''Geastrum stiptatum'' * ''Geastrum striatum'' * ''Geastrum subiculosum'' * ''Geastrum tichifer'' * ''Geastrum triplex'' * ''Geastrum velutinum'' * ''Geastrum verrucoramulosum''<ref name="Cabral 2017"/> * ''Geastrum welwitschii'' * ''Geastrum xerophilum'' * ''Geastrum xylogenum'' {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
<ref name="Cabral 2014">{{cite journal |vauthors=Cabral TS, ((Silva BDB)), Ishikawa NK, da Silva Alfredo D, Neto RB, Clement CR, Baseia IG |title=A new species and new records of gasteroid fungi (Basidiomycota) from Central Amazonia, Brazil |journal=Phytotaxa |year=2014 |volume=184 |issue=4 |pages=239–53 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.183.4.3}}</ref>
<ref name="Cabral 2014b">{{cite journal |vauthors=Cabral TS, ((da Silva BDB)), Marinho P, Baseia IG |title=''Geastrum rusticum'' (Geastraceae, Basidiomycota), a new earthstar fungus in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest − a molecular analysis |journal=Nova Hedwigia |year=2014 |volume=98 |issue=1–2 |pages=265–72 |doi=10.1127/0029-5035/2013/0158}}</ref>
<ref name="Cabral 2017">{{cite journal |vauthors=Cabral TS, Sousa JO, ((da Silva BDB)), Martin MP, Clement CR, Baseia IG |title=A remarkable new species of Geastrum with an elongated branched stipe |journal=Mycoscience |year=2017 |volume=58 |issue=5 |pages=344–350 |doi=10.1016/j.myc.2017.03.004|hdl=10261/163850 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name="da Silva 2013">{{cite journal |vauthors=((da Silva BDB)), Cabral TS, Marinho P, Ishikawa NK, Baseia IG |title=Two new species of ''Geastrum'' (Geastraceae, Basidiomycota) found in Brazil |journal=Nova Hedwigia |year=2013 |volume=96 |issue=3–4 |pages=445–56 |doi=10.1127/0029-5035/2013/0089 |url=https://ppbio.inpa.gov.br/sites/default/files/11_Silva_445_456_wm.pdf }}</ref>
<ref name="Crous 2018">{{cite journal|vauthors=Crous PW, Wingfield MJ, Burgess TI, et al. |title=Fungal Planet description sheets: 716-784. |journal=Persoonia |year=2018 |volume=40 |pages=240–393 |doi=10.3767/persoonia.2018.40.10 |pmid=30505003 |url=https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nhn/pimj/2018/00000040/00000001/art00011 |pmc=6146637 }}</ref>
<ref name="Demoulin 1984">{{cite journal |author=Demoulin V. |year=1984 |title=Typification of ''Geastrum'' Pers.: Pers. and its orthographic variant ''Geaster'' (Gasteromycetes) |journal=Taxon |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=498–501 |doi=10.2307/1220990|jstor=1220990 }}</ref>
<ref name="Domínguez De Toledo 1996">{{cite journal |author=Domínguez De Toledo |author2=Laura S. |year=1996 |title=''Geastrum lilloi'' sp. nov. from Argentina |jstor=3760982 |journal=Mycologia |volume=88 |issue=5 |pages=858–62 |url=http://www.cybertruffle.org.uk/cyberliber/59350/0088/005/0858.htm | doi = 10.2307/3760982 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
<ref name="Douanla-Meli 2005">{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s11557-006-0127-3 |vauthors=Douanla-Meli C, Langer E, Calonge FD |year=2005 |title=''Geastrum pleosporus'' sp nov., a new species of Geastraceae identified by morphological and molecular phylogenetic data |journal=Mycological Progress |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=239–50|bibcode=2005MycPr...4..239D |hdl=10261/91826 |s2cid=21970990 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name="Fazolino 2008">{{cite journal |vauthors=Fazolino EP, Calonge FD, Baseia IG |year=2008 |title=''Geastrum entomophilum'', a new earthstar with an unusual spore dispersal strategy |journal=Mycotaxon |volume=104 |pages=449–53}}</ref>
<ref name="Johnson 1928">{{cite journal |author=Johnson MM. |year=1928 |title=The Gasteromycetae of Ohio |journal=Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin 22 |volume=4 |issue=7 |pages=271–352}}</ref>
<ref name="Kasuya 2012">{{cite journal |vauthors=Kasuya T, Hosaka K, Uno K, Kakishima M |title=Phylogenetic placement of ''Geastrum melanocephalum'' and polyphyly of ''Geastrum triplex'' |journal=Mycoscience |year=2012 |doi=10.1007/s10267-012-0186-z |volume=53 |issue=6 |pages=411–426|s2cid=83885541 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name="Kirk 2008">{{cite book |vauthors=Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA |title=Dictionary of the Fungi |edition=10th |publisher=CAB International |location=Wallingford, UK |year=2008 |page=274 |isbn=978-0-85199-826-8}}</ref>
<ref name="Zamora 2013">{{cite journal |vauthors=Zamora JC, Calonge FD, Martín MP |title=New sources of taxonomic information for earthstars (''Geastrum'', Geastraceae, Basidiomycota): phenoloxidases and rhizomorph crystals |journal=Phytotaxa |year=2013 |volume=132 |issue=1 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.132.1.1|hdl=10261/238837 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name="Zamora 2014">{{cite journal |vauthors=Zamora JC, Calonge FD, Hosaka K, Martín MP |s2cid=84225845 |year=2014 |title=Systematics of the genus ''Geastrum'' (Basidiomycota, Fungi) revisited |journal=Taxon |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=477–97 |doi=10.12705/633.36|doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name="Zamora 2014b">{{cite journal |vauthors=Zamora JC, de Diego Calonge F, Martín MP |title=Combining morphological and phylogenetic analyses to unravel systematics in ''Geastrum'' sect. ''Schmidelia'' |journal=Mycologia |year=2014 |volume=106 |issue=6 |pages=1199–211 |pmid=25152001 |doi=10.3852/14-072|hdl=10261/164436 |s2cid=5578565 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
}}
== Sources == * [https://biotanz.landcareresearch.co.nz/scientific-names/1cb18afb-36b9-11d5-9548-00d0592d548c New Zealand Species] * [https://archive.today/20130111214418/http://www.british-towns.net/nature/07_specie_menu.asp?GetLGID=116763 British Species] * [https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxonsubtaxa/id60767/ Czech Species and Photos] * {{cite web |title=''Geastrum'' Pers. |work=Atlas of Living Australia |url=https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:indexfungorum.org:names:19141}} * {{cite web |url=http://sciweb.nybg.org/Science2/hcol/lists/geastraceae.html |title=Geastraceae |work=Virtual Herbarium, Steere Herbarium |publisher=New York Botanical Garden}} * [https://archive.org/stream/revisionoffamily3114ponc/revisionoffamily3114ponc_djvu.txt Ponce de Leon, Patricio, A Revision of the Family Geastraceae, Field Museum of Natural History 1968] * {{cite thesis |last=Bates |first=Scott T. |title=Arizona members of the Geastraceae and Lycoperdaceae (Basidiomycota, Fungi) |date=December 2004 |type=Masters |publisher=Arizona State University |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266406412 }} * {{cite book |first=Stellan |last=Sunhede |title=Geastraceae (Basidiomycotina): Morphology, Ecology and Systematics, with Special Emphasis on the North European Species |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A_NEAAAAYAAJ |year=1989 |publisher=Fungiflora |isbn=978-82-90724-05-9}}
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Category:Geastrum Category:Agaricomycetes genera