#calostoma

Calostoma lutescens - 9/17 at Hemlock Bluffs, North Carolina

So this scandalous thing is most likely Calostoma cinnabarinum, which is a gasteroid fungus. It has several layers, the outer being this gelatinous universal veil-type thing. Underneath is a bright red membrane that has raised ostioles, which are openings for the eventual release of spores. Apparently the appearance of these has led to some species of Calostoma being named “pretty mouth,” which is the worst fucking thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

The gelatinous layer is supposed to fall away naturally with age but I kinda peeled it away in the first pic because I have never seen this fungus in person before and wanted to make sure! Under the rather tough red layer is a white gleba (spore mixture).

I made a video about Calostoma, and in particular, the gelatinous joyousness that is Calostoma cinnabarinum. Check it out if you want to learn more about this awesome fungus’s anatomy and evolution.

It’s finally been raining after several dry weeks. This morning I went for a mushroom hike though it was still sprinkling (I couldn’t wait - I’m going through withdrawal), and I ran into a patch of Calostoma lutescens. I kind of want to make a short video all about C. lutescens and its relative Calostoma cinnabarinum. What do you think?

I encountered last season’s Calostoma lutescens, a promise of things to come

Endemic to Australia, where the original specimens were collected by mycologist Bruce Fuhrer. He was an Australian botanist and photographer, whose collection of fungi photos covered more than 3000 species.

Surprisingly, the Sclerodermataceae are in the Boletales, despite not resembling boletes in the slightest.

Known to be ectomycorhizal with woody plants, with fruiting bodies about 28 mm tall, with a pseudostipe 15–20 mm long.

Calostoma lutescens - 10/17 at Hemlock Bluffs, North Carolina