Small mushroom growing in desert mud |
Stalkballs or Stalked Puffballs (Tulostoma spp.) are a small, arid-lands species that grows on a narrow stalk with an open puffball atop the stalk. These mushrooms appear in the desert after rains, but can remain for long periods of time. When ready, spores are released to winds through an opening atop the puffball. Stalkballs feed on decomposing vegetative matter below the soil surface.
Taxonomy: Kingdom: Fungi; Class: Agaricomycetes; Order: Agaricales; Family: Agaricaceae. |