Pisolithus tinctorius (Mich.: Pers.) Coker & Couch
Gasterom. East. US & Canada: 170. 1928.

Photo: Young sporocarp.

Common Name: Dead Man's Foot, Dyeball

Synonym: Pisolithus arhizus

• Sporocarp

  Sporocarp 5-20 cm tall, 4-10 cm wide, rounded to lobed, becoming club-shaped, with a sterile, yellowish-brown, fibrous, deeply rooted base; peridium thin, smooth, often shiny, yellowish-brown, dark-brown to purple brown; gleba, of tiny, pebble-sized, white to yellowish-brown, sometimes reddish-brown peridioles (spore sacs) developing in a black gelatinous matrix; at maturity the peridium crumbling apically revealing a mass of cinnamon-brown spores; odor pleasant, of mushrooms.

• Spores

  Spores cinnamon brown, 7-12 µm, globose, spiny.

• Habitat

  Solitary to scattered near conifers, in our area Monterey Pine; typically in impoverished soils, or disturbed ground, e.g. roadsides, paths, and dry grassy areas; fruiting in the early fall.

• Edibility

  Said to be edible when young, but with local experience lacking, not recommended.

• Comments

  This puffball is inevitably described as one of the least attractive of all fungi. However, it can be interesting to section immature sporocarps to view the distinctive sac-like peridioles. At maturity, the peridioles breakdown to form the masses of spores which make this fungus unpleasant to collect. While ignored by most amateur collectors, it's worth noting that it finds use in Forestry because of its ability to form mycorrhizae with a variety of conifer seedlings, and by artists, who use it as a source for dyes.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Fred Stevens: Pisolithus tinctorius (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Pisolithus tinctorius (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Pisolithus tinctorius (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Pisolithus tinctorius (CP)
  • Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month: Pisolithus tinctorius (D & CP)
  • Robert Rich: Pisolithus tinctorius (D & CP)
  • Pilze, Pilze, Pilze: Pisolithus arhizus (CP)
  • Mushroom Observer: Pisolithus arhizus (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 712 (D), p. 713 (P), plates 185, 189 (CP)
  • Arora (1991): p. 224 (D & CP), p. 225 (CP)
  • Jordan: p. 364 (D & CP) [Pisolithus arhizus]
  • Lincoff: p. 838 (D), plate 698 (CP)
  • Miller: sp 368 (D)
  • Pegler, et al.: p. 36 (D), p. 37 (I & CP)
  • Phillips: p. 284 (D), p. 285 (CP)
  • Smith & Weber: sp. 276 (D & CP)
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)