Sphaerobolus stellatus Pers.

Filed As

Gasteroid agarics
Sphaerobolus stellatus Pers.

Collector(s)

B. Bomanz 113, 03 Oct 2005

Location

United States of America. Missouri. Saint Louis Co. Manchester. 909 Woodside Village Lane.

Habitat

hillside - wooded. Moisture conditions: very moist. wood - mulch.

Description

spore length: 8.5 - 10.5 microns; spore width: 5.5 - 8 microns; spore shape: unevenly oblong; spore texture: smooth; spore color: clear; spore print color: n/d. This cousin of the bird's nest fungi is easily recognized by its diminutive dimensions, bright orange star-shaped ''catapult,'' and single central ''egg'' or spore ball. It makes a marvelous - albeit Lilliputian - laboratory pet: a small pop accompanies the ejection of the spore ball, which sticks to whatever it lands on. Its flight path has been measured at 14 ft. high and 17 ft. long - or more than 1000 times the size of the fruiting body! To equal such a prodigious feat, we puny humans would have to throw a discus over one mile high and far! It is also interesting to note that the ''sphere thrower'' does not ''do its thing'' in complete darkness - light is apparently needed to trigger the ''cannon,'' as well as a sufficient supply of moisture. I was able to push up on the bottom of the sphere cup and have it make the popping sound and watch the sporemass bubble up (see photo in the ''Voucher Photos'' folder). Also, when I broke some of the material away for a voucher specimen, several of the fungi ejected their spheres and they hit my face and clothes. When looking in the mirror inside a few hours later, I noticed the spheres stuck to my clothing and face. They were rather hard to remove. Close examination by Dr. Methven (see annotation above) confirmed that this specimen is Sphaerobolus stellatus.

Identifiers

NY Barcode: 03817612

Occurrence ID: e1b8bb18-634a-4984-8bf0-7aeae0caeeda

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