home

giant hygroscopic earthstar

Astraeus pteridis

Member of barometer earthstars (genus Astraeus)
family Astraeaceae
mushrooms, bracket fungi, puffballs, and allies (class Agaricomycetes)
higher basidiomycetes (subphylum Agaricomycotina)
basidiomycete fungi (phylum Basidiomycota)
fungi including lichens (kingdom Fungi)

There are no other wild species of this genus in the bay area.


photo

Our local population was recently split from A. hygrometricus [source]. iNaturalist still has many local observations under the former species.


Chris’s observations: none

Taxon info: iNaturalist

Bay Area species: iNaturalist