Truffle Genus: Calvarula
 Calvarula excavata basidiospore |
Kingdom: Fungi Phylum: Basidiomycota Order: Phallales Family: Clathraceae |
Spore Characters
Surface: Smooth.
Shape and Size: Ellipsoid to ovoid, 3-3.5 x 1.5-2.5 µm.
Wall: Single, thin.
Color in Water: Hyaline, brown in mass.
Melzer's Reaction: Not distinctive.
View photos of Calvarula spores
Sporocarp Characters
Shape and Size: Subglobose, up to 1.5 cm.
Peridium: Felty to fibrillose, ephemeral, flaking off. White, staining brown when bruised. Surface of peridium segregated into plates and sutures to resemble a skull.
Gleba: At maturity composed of a brown powdery mass of spores. Columella unbranched, white, reduced.
Odor: Not recorded.