Earth ball. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Earth ball. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Earth ball. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Earth ball. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Common Name

An Earth Ball

Family

Sclerodermataceae

Notes

Fungus 3cm tall above the ground, 5cm tall, including the 'root'.

Scleroderma (species unnamed) recorded from Hattah-Kulkyne and Murray-Sunset National Parks (Vic) may or may not be the same species as each other or the same species as the Scleroderma (sp. aff verrucosum) that occurs on Scotia Sanctary.

Wikipedia description of the genus:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scleroderma_%28fungus%29

Technical description of the genus Scleroderma in Grgurinovic, C. A. (1997), Larger Fungi of South Australia page 556