Etym.: the name refers to the granulose nature of the exoperidium which falls off leaving pitted scars on the endoperidium.
Spore-sac large, up to 17 x 15 mm. Exoperidium hyphal, the threads mixed with sand particles and forming a band that persists at the base. Endoperidium dirty whitish to light cinereous, finally not altogether smooth, but with pitted scars of the sand particles of the exoperidium. Mouth fibrillose, not projecting, not mammose, tending to become torn with age. Socket separated from stem, membrane entire. Gleba ochraceous ferrugineous. Stem fibrillose-squamose, with bands (of ETW) and other lighter ones, wood colour, subequal, 37 x 4 mm.
Spores globose to elliptic, coloured, minutely and densely verrucose under L.M., 4.6-6.1 µm diam. Under SEM, the ornamentation appears as differently shaped and sized verrucae, slightly or not at all anastomosed. Capillitium hyaline to subhyaline, branched and profusely septate; threads thick-walled, with visible to solid lumen, 3.3-8.1 µm diam, abruptly swollen at the slightly coloured septa, disjointable.
Habitat: sandy soil in semidesertic areas.
Distribution: Australasia: Australia. North America: United States. South America: Argentina, Chile. Asia: U.S.S.R.: Astrakhanskaia SSR. Holotype: Australia, Melbourne, leg. McAlpine (Herb. Lloyd n° 15.424, BPI!).
Illustration: Lloyd (op.cit.).
