 = Sclerodermatineae = 
 
 Sclerodermatineae is a suborder of the fungal order Boletales . Circumscribed in 2002 by mycologists Manfred Binder and Andreas Bresinsky , it contains nine genera and about 80 species . The suborder contains a diverse assemblage fruit body morphologies , including boletes , gasteroid forms , earthstars ( genus Astraeus ) , and puffballs . Most species are ectomycorrhizal , although the ecological role of some species is not known with certainty . The suborder is thought to have originated in the late Cretaceous ( 145 – 66 Ma ) in Asia and North America , and the major genera diversified around the mid Cenozoic ( 66 – 0 Ma ) . 
 
 = = Taxonomy = = 
 
 The Sclerodermatineae was first legitimately used by Manfred Binder and Andreas Bresinsky in 2002 based on molecular analyses of nuclear ribosomal large subunit ( 25S ) rRNA sequences from 60 species of Boletales . This research was an extension of Binder 's 1999 graduate work , in which he argued for the need to recognize the molecular differences of the sclerodermatoid fungi . Sclerodermatineae is one of six lineages of the Boletales recognized as a suborder ; the others are the Boletineae , Paxillineae , Suillineae , Tapinellineae , and Coniophorineae . Of the nine genera assigned to the Sclerodermatineae , three are hymenomycetes ( Boletinellus , Gyroporus , and Phlebopus ) , and six are gasteroid ( Astraeus , Calostoma , Diplocystis , Pisolithus , and Scleroderma ) . Since the suborder 's original description , there have been several phylogenetic studies investigating the Sclerodermatineae . Some studies have revealed the existence of numerous cryptic species and have contributed to taxonomic expansion of the group . The " core " Sclerodermatineae include the genera Astraeus , Calostoma , Scleroderma , Pisolithus , Diplocystis , Tremellogaster ( all gasteroid ) , and the boletoid genus Gyroporus ; Phlebopus and Boletinellus resolved as sister to this core group . 
 As of 2012 , there are an estimated 78 species in the Sclerodermatineae . The type of the suborder is the family Sclerodermataceae ; other families in the suborder are the Boletinellaceae , Diplocystaceae , and the Gyroporaceae . 
 Boletinellaceae 
 Boletinellus ( 2 species ) 
 Phlebopus ( 12 species ) 
 Diplocystaceae 
 Astraeus ( 5 species ) 
 Diplocystis ( 1 species ) 
 Endogonopsis ( 1 species ) 
 Tremellogaster ( 1 species ) 
 Gyroporaceae 
 Gyroporus ( 10 species ) 
 Sclerodermataceae 
 Calostoma ( 15 species ) 
 Chlorogaster ( 1 species ) 
 Favillea ( 1 species ) 
 Horakiella ( 1 species ) 
 Pisolithus ( 5 species ) 
 Scleroderma ( about 30 species ) 
 Based on ancestral reconstruction studies , the earliest ( basal ) members of the Sclerodermatineae originated in the late Cretaceous ( 145 – 66 Ma ) . The major genera diversified near the mid Cenozoic ( 66 – 0 Ma ) . Asia and North America are the most probable ancestral areas for all Sclerodermatineae , and Pinaceae and angiosperms ( primarily rosids ) are the most probable ancestral hosts . 
 
 = = Description = = 
 
 Members of the Sclerodermatineae have fruit body shapes ranging from boletoid ( with a cap , stipe , and tubes on the underside of the cap ) to gasteroid . Boletoid fruit bodies sometimes have hollow stipes with a surface that is smooth to somewhat furfuraceous ( covered with flaky particles ) , and lack the reticulation ( a net @-@ like pattern of interlacing lines ) characteristic of some members of the Boletaceae . The pores are merulioid ( wrinkled with low , uneven ridges ) , boletinoid , and either fine or coarse . The flesh is usually whitish to yellowish , and some species exhibit a blue staining reaction upon injury . In mass , spores are yellow ; microscopically , the spores are ellipsoid in shape and have a smooth surface . 
 Gasteroid fruit body types are either roughly spherical or tuberous , occasionally with stipes , and usually have a peridium that is either simple or multi @-@ layered . Mature gasteroid fruit bodies generally open irregularly at maturity to expose a powdery gleba with a color ranging from white to yellow or black @-@ brown to black . Capillitia are generally absent from the gleba . Spores are spherical or nearly so , and have a surface texture that ranges from smooth to wart @-@ like and spiny , or sometimes with reticulations . Hyphae have clamp connections . 
 
 = = Morphological diversity = = 
 
 A distinguishing feature of the Sclerodermatineae is the diversity of morphologies within the group . The hymenomycete genera Boletinellus , Gyroporus , and Phlebopus are typical boletes with a cap and stipe . However , each of the gasteroid Sclerodermatineae has a distinct morphology . Species of Astraeus have an " earthstar " morphology where the outer peridium peels back in sections . The gleba of Pisolithus is partitioned into hundreds of membranous chambers . Scleroderma is a simple puffball with a thin outer skin and a powdery gleba at maturity . Diplocystis and Tremellogaster are each distinct in their morphologies : the former comprises compound fruit bodies each with 3 – 60 spore sacs crowded together , while the latter forms a roughly spherical sporocarp with a thick multi @-@ layered peridium . Calostoma ( Greek for " pretty mouth " ) is morphologically distinct from other gasteroid members , having a fruit body that forms a globed , spore @-@ bearing head composed of a three @-@ layered peridium . About two @-@ thirds of Sclerodermatineae species have a gasteroid morphology , although this may be an underestimate due to the existence of cryptic species that have yet to be formally described . For example , studies of the gasteroid genera Astraeus and Pisolithus indicate the existence of numerous cryptic taxa . 
 
 = = Ecology = = 
 
 The mycorrhizal associations of several Sclerodermatineae genera have been established . Studies have demonstrated that Astraeus , Pisolithus , and Scleroderma form ectomycorrhizal associations with both angiosperms and gymnosperms . Previously thought to be saprophytic , the Calostomataceae were determined to be ectomycorrhizal with Fagaceae and Myrtaceae using isotopic and molecular analyses . Species from the genera Pisolithus and Scleroderma have been used in forestry as mycorrhizal inocula to help promote the growth and vigor of young seedlings . 
 As a group , the Sclerodermatineae have a broad distribution , and some genera ( Pisolithus and Scleroderma ) have been found on all continents except Antarctica . 
 
 = = = Cited literature = = = 
 
 Kirk PM , Cannon PF , Minter DW , Stalpers JA ( 2008 ) . Dictionary of the Fungi ( 10th ed . ) . Wallingford , UK : CAB International . ISBN 978 @-@ 0 @-@ 85199 @-@ 826 @-@ 8 . 
 