Truffle Genus: Leucogaster

Leucogaster rubescens basidiospore scale = 15 µm

Kingdom: Fungi Phylum: Basidiomycota Order: Russulales Family: Albatrellaceae

Spore Characters

Surface: Honeycomb-reticulate, with spines at the junction of the ridges, 0.5-2 µm tall; the entire spore is enclosed in a loose, smooth, thin-walled envelope.
Shape and Size: Globose to broadly ellipsoid, 6-19 µm in diameter; attachment inconspicuous, straight.
Wall: Single, 1-3 µm thick.
Color in Water: Hyaline.
Melzer's Reaction: Not distinctive.
Comments: Leucogaster spores are distinctive in having hyaline, reticulate (which can appear as spiny) spores enclosed in an envelope. It is related to Leucophleps.

View photos of Leucogaster spores

Sporocarp Characters

Shape and Size: Globose to irregular, 1-5 cm in diameter.
Peridium: White to yellow, often staining red. Felty, with sparse to abundant rhizomorphs appressed on the base and sides.
Gleba: White, sometimes with brown areas. In moist conditions, exuding a sticky, white fluid from the spore-filled chambers. 1-2 mm in diameter.
Odor: Pleasant (often fruity) to oily.

View photos of Leucogaster sporocarps

Name Derivation

Named by German mycologist Rudolf Hesse (1882) from Greek, leuco- (white) and gaster- (literally "stomach," but in mycology referring to Gasteromycetes, i.e. puffballs). Hence, coined the "white puffball" in reference to the white gleba and generally overall pale coloration of the sporocarp.

Distribution

North America and Europe in forests of ectomycorrhizal hosts. From sea level to high elevations in the mountains. One species is known from Australia (Beaton et al., 1985).
Season: Spring through autumn, frequent in summer.
Species known from North Temperate Forests: Six.

Keys and Descriptions

Fogel (1975). Montecchi and Sarasini (2000).