Paulownia tomentosa
The specific epithet "geaster" alludes to members of genus "Geastrum", which also open to form star-shaped fruit bodies commonly called 'earthstars'. In the United States, "Chorioactis geaster" is commonly known as the Texas star, or the devil's cigar. Regarding the origin of the latter name American mycologist Fred Jay Seaver commented: "Whether the name Devil's Cigar refers to the form of the young specimens which resemble a bloated cigar in form, as well as in color, or to the fact that the fungus appears to 'smoke' at maturity, we cannot say ... At any rate, the name is very appropriate." In 1997, Texan state Senator Chris Harris filed a bill to make "C. geaster" the official state fungus of Texas. The bill passed the Senate but did not succeed in the House. In Japan the mushroom is called "kirinomitake" (キリノミタケ), because the immature, unopened fruit body bears a superficial resemblance to the seed pods of "kiri", the empress tree ("Paulownia tomentosa").