Calostoma cinnabarina

[ Basidiomycetes > Boletales > Sclerodermataceae > Calostoma . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

Field guides sometimes call Calostoma cinnabarina the "Stalked Puffball-in-Aspic," which is a very apt description of this beautifully disgusting fungus.

"Garçon!"
"Oui, monsieur?"
"I believe I will have the stalked puffball-in-aspic this evening."
"A very wise choice, monsieur."

. . . and I believe I will be sick. I watched my ex-wife eat snails, tripe, raw sardines, and chicken bones, but I doubt I could watch anyone eat Calostoma cinnabarina. In case you're wondering, edibility is not known for this fungus--which is not too surprising, since even my ex-wife would probably take a bye.

Readers who are used to my admonitions against identifying mushrooms by comparing them to photographs may be surprised to hear me say that Calostoma cinnabarina is an exception. In fact I have never collected it--and while this usually prevents me from creating a page for a species (I prefer to write about mushrooms I have experience with), I receive enough e-mails describing this mushroom and wondering what it is that I need a Web page to point readers to. Fortunately, several of these e-mailers have included photos, and kindly agreed to their use.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing alone or gregariously in woods, along the edges of roads and paths, and so on; spring through fall; eastern North America, Texas, and perhaps in the Southwest; apparently more common at higher elevations within its range.

Fruiting body: At first appearing like a raised gelatinous egg or lump, with a translucent outer layer and a red inner layer; later appearing like a smooth or dusted pinkish to red balloon with a central pore, raised on a shaggy reddish to reddish brown stem that is surrounded by the deciduous, gelatinous material (often containing reddish chunks, as in the illustration); finally appearing like a pinkish to reddish, perforated balloon about 2 cm across, atop a shaggy or even coarsely reticulate stem that is 2-4 cm long and 1-2 cm thick. The spore mass within the ball is white, becoming buff or yellowish at maturity.

Microscopic Features: Spores 14-28 x 6-11 µ; elliptical; pitted.

REFERENCES: Desvaux. (Coker & Couch, 1928; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Weber & Smith, 1985; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Metzler & Metzler, 1992; Roody, 2003.) I have not collected this mushroom.

Calostoma cinnabarinum is a synonym.

Calostoma lutescens has a yellow, rather than red, spore case, and a longer stem; Calostoma ravenelii has a yellowish spore case and lacks the gelatinous covering.

Recent DNA research has placed species of Calostoma within the Boletales.

Further Online Information:

Calostoma cinnabarinum at Roger's Mushrooms

C. lutescens or C. ravenelii? See comments to the left.

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, August). Calostoma cinnabarina. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/calostoma_cinnabarina.html