Earthstar Mushroom

First post on Mushrooms/ fungi
so today was February 19, 2011
temperature was 76°
Wind: From WSW at 29mph gusting to 43mph
Humidity: 35%
 Wind was exceptionally strong
I went mushrooming today! Mushrooms are a viable source of nutrition for hunters and gatherers. I could not find any actual mushrooms though :( I could only find some brackets on trees. The following is my attempt to identify and learn about the following discoveries.

some websites I refered to:
http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/fungi/types1.htm
http://www.projectnoah.org/organisms
http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/visualkey.asp

This post is very incomplete, still working on identifying them


 Mushroom 1
puff ball EARTH STAR
dark brown, light brown star formation
5 cm wide
2.5 cm tall
12 open stars from bottom
brown spores
After much research, I've decided that it is either genus Astraeus or Geastrum. It states for both that older samples disintegrate and it is not possible to distinguish what kind of spore sack was in the middle of the star. I hope to find another, fresher sample at some point in the future.

02/22/2012 Went to my local library and found a field guide titled
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms

let's see what I can uncover
Earthstar Scleroderma? p 839

Scleroderma geaster
seems like it might be it
I'm not completely positive, however.

http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/9098006