Puffballs

Also check out some of the fungal music on our site, and specifially, "Puffballs"

Click here to see pictures of puffballs and false puffballs species identified.

A rosy-colored puffball and spores samples from the Calvatia pyriformis group.

What is it? readers ask. This not uncommon (though not as common as it used to be, it seems) feature of a large and over mature puffball. These can persist for months and are sometimes encountered during hunting season as dusty bags. The spores in the billions have already largely dispersed, their edibility long past.

This photos contrasts a true puffball at left and a secotioid agaric on the right. Note the distinct peridium (skin) and uniform context (interior) on the true puffball versus the vestigal stem and how the spore bearing surface resembles crumbly gills in the secotioid fungus.

This is Calvatia subcretacea, the so called warty puffball. Notice the outer skin has been picked off by a squirrel or a person goofing around with the specimen. Note also that the fresh white flesh of this immature specimen turned brown sitting out in the summer sun. This puffball sits right on the ground, with not much of a base.

Lycoperdon
This small and warty puffball shows up in duff and rotten conifer wood, needles, etc. Note the tiny pyramidal warts which are easily wiped off.