Поширення
Argentina, Australia (introduced), Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Jersey, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America

Description
The fruit bodies start their development underground or buried in leaf debris, linked to a strand of mycelium at the base. As they mature, the exoperidium (the outer tissue layer of the peridium) splits open into 7 to 14 rays which curve backward; this pushes the fruit body above the substrate. Fully opened specimens can reach dimensions of 2-12 cm (0.8-4.7 in) from ray tip to tip. The rays are of unequal size, with tips that often roll back inward. They comprise three distinct layers of tissue. The inner pseudoparenchymatous layer (so named for the resemblance to the tightly packed cells of plant parenchyma) is fleshy and thick when fresh, and initially pale beige but darkening to yellow or brown as it matures, often cracking and peeling off in the process. The exterior mycelial layer, often matted with fine leaf debris or dirt, usually cracks to reveal a middle fibrous layer, which is made of densely packed hyphae 1-2.5 μm wide. The base of the fruit body is concave to vaulted in shape, and often covered with adhering dirt. The roughly spherical spore sac (endoperidium) measures 1-5 cm (0.4-2.0 in) in diameter, and is supported by a cluster of short columns shaped like flattened spheres. It is gray-brown in color, and minutely roughened with small, lightly interconnected warts. There are several to many evenly dispersed mouths, the ostioles, mainly on the upper half of the endoperidium. They are roughly circular with fimbriate edges. The inedible fruit bodies have no distinct taste, although dried specimens develop an odor resembling curry powder or bouillon cubes.
Like many earthstars, the fungus uses the force of falling raindrops to help disperse the spores, which are ejected in little bursts when objects (such as rain) strike the outer wall of the spore sac. The gleba is brown to grayish-brown, with a cotton-like texture that, when compressed, allows the endoperidium to flex quickly and create a puff of air that is forced out through the ostioles. This generates a cloud of spores that can then be carried by the wind. There are columellae (sterile structures that start at the base of the gleba and extend through it), which are usually not evident in the mature gleba, but apparent at the base of the spore sac. The columellae are not connected to the ostioles, but rather, terminate within the gleba at some distance from them. The capillitia (sterile strands within the gleba) are long, slender, free, tapering, unbranched, and 2-5 μm thick, with thickened walls. The spores are spherical, nonamyloid, and are ornamented with irregularly shaped flaring protuberances up to 2 μm high. They measure 3.9-4.8 μm in diameter (without ornamentation), and 5.4-7.0 μm including the ornamentation.

Habitat and distribution
Myriostoma is saprobic, deriving nutrients from decomposing organic matter. Fruit bodies grow grouped in well-drained or sandy soil, often in the partial shade of trees. The species occurs in deciduous forests and mixed forests, gardens, along hedges and grassy road banks, and grazed grasslands. In the Northern Hemisphere, it tends to grow on well-drained south-facing slopes, while it prefers a similar habitat on north-facing slopes in Australia. In Europe, its major habitat is riparian mixed forests dominated by Salix alba and Populus alba along the great rivers. In Hawaii, it has been collected at elevations above 2,000 m (6,600 ft) where it appears to favor the mamane (Sophora chrysophylla) forest.
The species is widespread, being known in its natural habitat from all five continents, but is not found in abundance. Myriostoma coliforme is rare in Europe, where it appears on the Regional Red Lists of 12 countries, and is one of 33 candidate species for listing in Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (the "Bern Convention"). Although originally described from England, it was considered extinct in mainland Britain until it was found again in Suffolk in 2006 near Ipswich, one of its original localities – it had been last reported in the country in 1880. The fungus is considered extinct in Switzerland. Its most northerly location is southern Sweden, although it is generally rare in northern Europe. It is similarly widespread but rarely encountered in North America, although there may be isolated localities, like New Mexico, where it is more abundant. In Australia, where its range is limited to the central New South Wales coast, it may have been introduced from exotic plant material.