Fungalpedia – Note 2384, Lycoperdon

 

Lycoperdon. Pers.

Citation when using this data: Yuan HS et al. 2020 – Fungalpedia, Basidiomycota.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank

Classification: Lycoperdaceae, Agaricales, Agaricomycetidae, Agaricomycetes, Agaricomycotina, Basidiomycota, Fungi

 

Notes: The genus Lycoperdon was first established by Persoon in 1796 who described
L. perlatum as the type species. Species are characterized primarily by subglobose to pyriforme basidomata with a conspicuous sterile base and dehiscence by an apical pore. The genus which has been studied extensively by many mycologists (Hollòs 1904; Perdeck 1950; Ahmad 1952; Kreisel 1962; Demoulin 1971) is represented by 52 species worldwide (Kirk et al. 2008; Jeppson et al. 2012). Molecular phylogenetic studies have widened the concept of the genus by including species of the genera Bovistella, Handkea, Morganella, and Vascellum (Krüger et al. 2001; Bates 2004; Larsson and Jeppson 2008; Bates et al. 2009; Grube 2009; Jeppson et al. 2012). Larsson and Jeppson (2008) established new limits of Lycoperdon by proposing subgenera within Lycoperdon, viz., Apioperdon, Bovistella, Lycoperdon, Morganella, Utraria and Vascellum.

 

Type species: Lycoperdon perlatum Pers., Observ. mycol. (Lipsiae) 1: 4 (1796).

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Lycoperdon.

 

References

Ahmad S (1952) Gasteromycetes of Pakistan. Lahore: Punjab University Press. pp. 1–150

Bates ST (2004) Arizona members of the Geastraceae and Lycoperdaceae (Basidiomycota, Fungi). Master’s Thesis. Arizona State University: Tempe, AZ. 445 p

Bates ST, Roberson RW, Desjardin DE (2009) Arizona gasteroid fungi I: Lycoperdaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota). Fungal Divers 37: 153–207

Demoulin V (1971) Le genre Lycoperdon en Europe et en Amérique du Nord: étude taxonomique et phytogéographique. Université de Liège, Dépt. de Botanique, Service de Botanique Systématique de Phytogéographie. pp. 284

Grube M, Berg G (2009) Microbial consortia of bacteria and fungi with focus on the lichen symbiosis. Fungal Biol Rev 23:72–85

Hollòs L (1904) Die Gasteromyceten Ungarns. Leipzig, 278 pp

Jeppson M, Larsson E, Martín MP (2012) Lycoperdon rupicola and L. subumbrinum: two new puffballs from Europe. Mycol Prog 11: 887–897

Jeppson M, Larsson E, Martín MP (2012) Lycoperdon rupicola and L. subumbrinum: two new puffballs from Europe. Mycol Prog 11: 887–897

Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA (2008) Ainsworth & Bisby’s dictionary of the fungi, 10th edn. CAB International, Wallingford

Kreisel H (1962) Die Lycoperdaceae der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. Feddes Repert 64: 89–201

Krüger D, Binder M, Fischer M, Kreisel H (2001). The Lycoperdales. A molecular approach to the systematics of some gasteroid mushrooms. Mycologia 93(5): 947–957

Larsson E, Jeppson M (2008) Phylogenetic relationships among species and genera of Lycoperdaceae based on ITS and LSU sequence data from north European taxa. Mycol Res 1–19

Larsson E, Jeppson M (2008) Phylogenetic relationships among species and genera of Lycoperdaceae based on ITS and LSU sequence data from north European taxa. Mycol Res 1–19

Perdeck A (1950) Revision of the Lycoperdaceae of the Netherlands. Blumea 6: 480–516

 

Entry by

Hai-Sheng Yuan, CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, People’s Republic of China, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

 

Published online 30 April 2026

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