Asterophora lycoperdoides is an awesome little fungal parasite that grows in temperate, boreal and subtropical forests in the northern hemisphere. This little gilled mushroom grows from the tissues of other gilled mushrooms from the two genera Russula and Lactarius. Asterophora lycoperdoides is a fitting scientific name, since its asexual spores have a pointy star shaped figure (aster=star) and its mature fruiting body turns powdery which resembles small species of puffballs (lycoperdoides=puffball-like).
Oscar Brefeld's Untersuchungen aus dem Gesammtgebiete der Mykologie, published in 1889.
The powdery substance that ends up covering these mature mushrooms is actually the species asexual spores. These spores known as chlamydospores have the same genetic makeup as the individual that created them, ultimately yielding clones if those asexual spores germinate. This form of reproduction is not uncommon throughout the fungal kingdom, as thousands upon thousands of species produce asexual spores. Although this species does produce sexual spores from basidia on its gills, chlamydospores are its main dispersal method.
Powdery chlamydospores on the cap of Asterophora lycoperdoides. Photo by Mark Prosser.
In fact, most fruiting bodies of Asterophora lycoperdoides don’t produce gills, let alone functional basidia. Only the large individuals produce gills that generate sexual spores. Smaller mushrooms depend solely on its powdery chlamydospores to reproduce.
The chlamydospores of Asterophora lycoperdoides. Image by Alan Rockefeller.
Species that mainly utilize chlamydospores generally have a lower genetic diversity compared to species that use genetically mixed up spores formed after meiosis. It is important to note that genetic diversity doesn’t always infer species success. Asterophora lycoperdoides can rapidly form chlamydospores which can recolonize the same Russula or Lactarius individual it is growing from. This gives the species a competitive edge, allowing it to outcompete against other fungi and bacteria trying to take advantage of the available fungal tissue.
Asterophora lycoperdoides. Photo by zaca.
The diversity of ecological roles fungi carry out are staggering. Here, we have yet another fungal parasite that invades the tissue of living Russula and Lactarius species. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, and you’re hiking in a forest packed full of Russula and Lactarius species, if you look hard enough, you’re likely to find this awesome little parasite.