About this fungus
Rounded Earthstar is a fungus in the Geastraceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A small earthstar with broad pale rays surrounding a rounded brown spore sac that sits directly on the rays without a stalk.
What to check
Look for a sessile spore sac and a conical central mouth surrounded by a sharply defined circular disc. There is no collar beneath the sac and the rays do not actively close and reopen with humidity.
Variation
Fresh rays are cream to buff and darken to papery brown. Ray number and curvature vary, while weathered specimens can lose the clean outline around the mouth.
Lookalikes
Collared Earthstar is larger and usually develops a distinct saucer-like collar. Sessile Earthstar has a fibrous, poorly delimited mouth rather than a sharp circular disc. Hygroscopic Earthstar belongs to a different group and actively closes its rays when dry.
Habitat and range
Saprotrophic in woodland soil and leaf litter, often around stumps or other buried organic matter. It is widespread in warm-temperate and tropical regions, with scattered records elsewhere.
Food safety
Inedible.
Photographs
Amanita77 / CC BY-SA 3.0Species to compare
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