GASTEROMYCETES

name often given to a group of fungi of the class Basidiomycetes (division Mycota) consisting of more than 700 species. Their spores, called basidiospores, are borne within a variety of fruiting bodies (basidiocarps) that are often spherical or egg-shaped and resemble mushrooms. Included among the Gasteromycetes are the bird's nest fungi (Crucibulum of the order Nidulariales), earthstars (Geastrum species of the order Lycoperdales), puffballs (Lycoperdales), and stinkhorns and other phalloids (Phallales). The basidiospores are not forcibly discharged but are freed after the basidiocarp disintegrates.