Fungal Diversity Arizona gasteroid fungi I: Lycoperdaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) Bates, S.T.1*, Roberson, R.W.1 and Desjardin, D.E.2 1School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA 2Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, California 94132, USA Bates, S.T., Roberson, R.W. and Desjardin, D.E. (2009). Arizona gasteroid fungi I: Lycoperdaceae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota). Fungal Diversity 37: 153-207. Twenty-eight species in the family Lycoperdaceae, commonly called ‘puffballs’, are reported from Arizona, USA. In addition to widely distributed species, understudied species (e.g., Calvatia cf. leiospora and Holocotylon brandegeeanum) are treated. Taxonomic descriptions and illustrations, which include microscopic characters, are given for each species, and a dichotomous key is presented to facilitate identification. Basidiospore morphology was also examined ultrastructurally using scanning electron microscopy, and phylogenetic analyses were carried out on nrRNA gene sequences (ITS1, ITS2, and 5.8S) from 42 species within (or closely allied to) the Lycoperdaceae. Key words: Agaricales, euagarics, fungal taxonomy, gasteroid fungi, gasteromycete, Lycoperdaceae, puffballs. Article Information Received 22 August 2008 Accepted 25 November 2008 Published online 1 August 2009 *Corresponding author: Scott T. Bates; e-mail:
[email protected] Introduction Agaricales, Boletales, and Russulales. Accordingly, a vigorous debate concerning the Lycoperdaceae Chevall.