''Astraeus pteridis'', commonly known as the giant hygroscopic earthstar, is a species of false earthstar in the family

Diplocystaceae Diplocystaceae (alternatively spelled Diplocystidaceae or Diplocystidiaceae) is a family of fungi in the Boletales order. The family was described by mycologist Hanns Kreisel Hanns Kreisel (16 July 1931 – 18 January 2017) was a German mycol ...

. It is found in North America.

Taxonomy

The species was described by American mycologist

Cornelius Lott Shear Cornelius Lott Shear (March 26, 1865 February 2, 1956) was an American mycology, mycologist and plant pathologist who served as a senior pathologist at the USDA Bureau of Plant Industry. Born in Coeyman's Hollow, Albany County, New York, on Mar ...

in 1902 under the name ''Scleroderma pteridis''.

Sanford Myron Zeller Sanford Myron Zeller (19 October 1885 – 4 November 1948) was an American mycologist. Born in Coldwater, Michigan, Zeller was educated at Lawrence College in Wisconsin, then Greenville College in Illinois, from which he received a Bachelor ...

transferred it to ''

Astraeus In Greek mythology, Astraeus () or Astraios () is the son of Crius and Eurybia, and the consort of Eos. He is said to be the father of the winds. Etymology His name "Astraeus" (Ancient Greek , translit. ''Astraîos'') is derived from the G ...

'' in 1948.

Description

''A. pteridis'' reaches or more when expanded, and often has a more pronounced

areolate Lichens are symbiotic organisms made up of multiple species: a fungus, one or more photobionts (an alga and/or a cyanobacteria) and sometimes a yeast. They are regularly grouped by their external appearance – a characteristic known as their gro ...

pattern on the inner surface of the rays. Like other ''Astraeus'' species, it is

hygroscopic Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption (chemistry), absorption or adsorption from the surrounding Natural environment, environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water mol ...

, with rays expanding in humid conditions and closing in arid conditions. It is not typically considered edible. It closely resembles the European ''A. hygrometricus'', but is larger. Within ''Astraeus'', ''A. pteridis'' is most closely related to '' A. morganii.''

Distribution

A molecular

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

study from 2013 resulted in the application of the name ''A. pteridis'' to the larger ''Astraeus'' found in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

region of North America. ''A. pteridis'' has also been found in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, which share historical connections to

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

. It may be widely distributed or have been translocated.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astraeus Pteridis Boletales Fungi described in 1902 Fungi of North America Fungi of Macaronesia Fungus species