Fruit bodies, technically known as gasterocarps, form spherical spore-bearing heads with a peridium (outer tissue layer) made of two to four clearly defined layers of tissue. The outermost peridial layer is a thick gelatinous or shiny cuticle, which during maturity peels away to reveal the brightly colored peristome that has a star-shaped pore through which spores may escape. The innermost layer of the peridium is papery and membranous, and remains attached to the outer layers only at the apex of the star-shaped apical pore or slit. The fruit bodies may either have no stalk (sessile), or be atop a stalk. The stalk, made of thick, intertwined and fused cords of hyphae, is hygroscopic, and will expand upon absorbing moisture. The spore mass in the head, the gleba, is pale, and initially has thick-walled skeletal hyphae called capillitia. Clamp connections are present in the fungal hyphae.
In This Article
Attributes
Similar Species
Tips for Finding
Clean and Preserve
Common Questions
General Info About Calostoma miniata
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