Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Astraeus

Saw several of these absolutely fascinating fungi (smaller than actually seen here) at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park this afternoon. The star rays were curled under with all the Earth Stars I saw there, not spread out in the shape of a star. "The Earth Star is a striking soil fungus, so named because the outer wall of the spore-bearing body splits open into a star. One metaphor refers to the rays standing on their tips, like a ballet dancer standing on their toes. Like other earthstars, the outer, leathery wall (peridium) splits open into the rays of a star, but the rays fold down into "legs" that support the spherical spore case that sits on a short stalk or pedicel. The rays are firmly attached to a clump of mycelium and leaf debris." From "The Amazing Fungi " website.