Geastrum britannicum

Geastrum britannicum is an inedible fungus from the family Geastraceae, whose fruit body resembles a man figure. The specific epithet britannicum reflects the fact that the fungus is found only in Great Britain.[1]

Geastrum britannicum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Fungi
Division:
Basidiomycota
Class:
Agaricomycetes
Subclass:
Phallomycetidae
Order:
Geastrales
Family:
Geastraceae
Genus:
Geastrum
Species:
G. britannicum
Binomial name
Geastrum britannicum
J.C. Zamora (2015)

Taxonomy

Geastrum britannicum was first spotted on a roadside verge in Cockley Cley under pine trees in 2000 by Jonathan Revett.[1] At the time, the species was believed to be merely a variant of Geastrum quadrifidum, which is only slightly different in appearance.[1] In 2015, the fungus was finally described as a new species by Juan Carlos Zamora on the basis of morphology and DNA sequence analysis.[1][2]

References
  1. Dan Hyde (29 March 2015). "New mushroom species found in Norfolk (don't eat it)". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  2. "Geastrum britannicum". MycoBank. Retrieved 30 March 2015.

Further reading
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