Asterophora lycoperdoides, commonly known as the star bearer, or powdery piggyback mushroom,[2] is a species of fungus in the Lyophyllaceae family.

It grows as a parasite on other mushrooms, mainly those in the genus Russula.

Asexual spores are produced on the mushrooms cap which enable the organism to clone itself easily.

The spores are star-shaped, hence the name star bearer.

[5] The species was first named as Agaricus lycoperdonoides by French mycologist Jean Baptiste Francois Pierre Bulliard in 1784.