Habitat and Ecology
Battarrea phalloides is a saprotrophic fungus growing as follows:
1) In well-developed and old Greek juniper forest on Golem Grad island, where these trees form the association Pruno webbii-Juniperetum excelsae. At this site, the fungus occurs on sandy soil with huge concentration of guano from cormorants, whose bird colony inhabits and nests on the island. These unique conditions seem very favourable for species growth.
2) In soil under planted cypress trees on two sites in Skopje area. It is also known from two other oak associations, where it is now extinct.
At all sites, bar the Radika river, the species has been registered in close proximity to cypress or Grecian juniper, which most likely underpins the association of this fungus with the quoted tree species (scale-like leaves). The latter has also been ascertained in the recent paper by Ferretti et all. (2020), where it is indicated that this fungus species shares the same habitat with Myriostoma coliforme. Accordingly, the species may be expected to occur at other sites with Grecian juniper, such as the oak-Grecian juniper association in the vicinity of the abandoned village Gugjakovo in Mariovo, then in the Grecian juniper association in the surroundings of Calakli vill., and at the localities where the pepper-pot earthstar occurs, such as along the Pcinja river course.