Sclerodermatineae is a suborder of the fungal order Boletales . Circumscribed in 2002 by mycologists Manfred Binder and Andreas Bresinsky , it contain nine genera and about 80 species . The suborder contain a diverse assemblage fruit body morphologies , including boletes , gasteroid forms , earthstars ( genus Astraeus ) , and puffballs . Most species are ectomycorrhizal , although the ecological role of some species is not known with certainty . The suborder is thought to have originated in the late Cretaceous ( 145 – 66 Ma ) in Asia and North America , and the major genera diversified around the mid Cenozoic ( 66 – 0 Ma ) .