Kingdom Fungi Scientific name Calvatia | Division Basidiomycota Family Agaricaceae | |
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Lower classifications Calvatia gigantea, Calvatia cyathiformis, Calvatia craniiformis, Calvatia nipponica, Calvatia rubroflava | ||
Calvatia cretacea fungi kingdom
Calvatia is a genus of puffball mushrooms that includes the spectacular giant puffball C. gigantea. It was formerly classified within the now-obsolete order Lycoperdales, which, following a restructuring of fungal taxonomy brought about by molecular phylogeny, has been split; the puffballs, Calvatia spp. are now placed in the family Agaricaceae of the order Agaricales.
Contents
Most species in the genus Calvatia are edible when young, though some are best avoided, such as Calvatia fumosa, which has a very pungent odor.
The name Calvatia derives from the Latin calvus meaning "bald" and calvaria, meaning "dome of the skull".
Calvatia cyathiformis fungi kingdom
Taxonomy
The genus Calvatia was established by Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries in 1849, with the inclusion of a solitary species, Calvatia craniiformis. This species was initially identified as Bovista craniiformis by Lewis David de Schweinitz in 1832.
Species
As of February 2015, Index Fungorum lists 58 species of Calvatia.
