PUFFBALLS, EARTHBALLS, EARTHSTARS, AND SIMILAR FUNGI

The common trait in this group is the production of spores inside a single balloonlike spore case, or peridium. Spores are often discharged through a small hole developing at the apex. The peridium may be thin, as in puffballs, or consist of multiple layers that include a thick rind. Some stoutly jacketed earthballs form underground and erupt upward to daylight. The outer layer of peridium in the earthstars splits open as starlike rays to expose a thin inner capsule filled with spores. Hygroscopic rays open or close in response to water or humidity. The peridium of stalked puffballs is raised off the ground. In the genus Calostoma, the stalk is comprised of a coarsely woven lattice resembling a loose column of seaweed. The interior of a peridium may be uniformly colored, speckled with small differently colored structures called peridioles, or traversed by a cordlike columella of nonspore tissue. The spore mass inside the peridium of puffballs, earthballs, earthstars, and similar fungi is called a gleba.

Some species in this group are edible, at least when young. Others are poisonous. Pisolithus arhizus is a source of fiber and fabric dyes.

Astraeus morganii Phosri, Watling & M. P. Martin

BAROMETER EARTHSTAR

Description: Fruitbody up to 9 cm wide, 1–2.5 cm high when fully expanded, consisting of a rounded peridium and starlike rays. Peridium nearly round or somewhat flattened, finely roughened, with one irregular porelike mouth, whitish to grayish or grayish-brown. Gleba white at first, becoming brown and powdery at maturity. Rays 6–12, hygroscopic, up to 5 cm long, yellow-brown to reddish-brown or grayish to nearly black; inner surface often finely cracked.

Occurrence: Solitary, scattered, or in groups on sandy soil, with oaks or pines. Year-round.

Edibility: Inedible.

Microscopic Features: Spores 7.5–10 µm, globose, distinctly warted. Brown.

Comments: American collections of this earthstar have traditionally been called Astraeus hygrometricus, a European species. Geastrum arenarium (see photo on p. 28) is similar but smaller; its rays are not hygroscopic and not finely cracked, and it has much smaller spores that measure 3–4 µm.

Bovista pusilla (Batsch.) Pers.

Description: Fruitbody 6–20 mm wide, consisting of a peridium with a small, pinched, cordlike rooting base. Peridium rounded or somewhat flattened, forming a small apical pore at maturity, covered with a fine fibrous coating that collapses and separates into very small patches or becomes powdery, white at first, becoming dull yellow to dark brown in age. Gleba filling the entire peridium, white, becoming greenish-yellow then brown and powdery at maturity.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups in cemeteries, lawns, fields, yards, and other open grassy areas. Summer–fall.

Edibility: Unknown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3.2–4.3 µm, globose, smooth or finely warted, with a very short pedicel, often with one large oil drop. Brownish.

Comments: Pusilla means “very little,” an appropriate name for this easily overlooked puffball. Lycoperdon pusillum is a synonym. Lycoperdon acuminatum (search online) is smaller yet, 3–9 mm wide; it has a pointed egg shape and grows on the bark of living trees.

Calostoma cinnabarinum Desv.

HOT LIPS, RED SLIMY-STALKED PUFFBALL

Description: Fruitbody a peridium with an outer and inner layer supported by a thick, short stalk. Peridium 1–2 cm wide and high, oval to nearly round. Outer layer thick, gelatinous, with small, orange-red seedlike pieces. Inner layer smooth, thin-walled, bright reddish-orange, fading to orange-yellow, with a slitlike mouth surrounded by liplike bright red ridges. Gleba white, becoming buff and powdery. Stalk 1.5–4 cm long, 1–2 cm thick, spongy, coarsely networked and pitted, reddish-orange to pale reddish-brown, covered by a thick gelatinous layer coated with debris.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups under hardwoods, especially oak, or in mixed woods, often buried up to the peridium. Summer–fall.

Edibility: Inedible.

Microscopic Features: Spores 14–22 × 6–9 µm, oblong-elliptic, pitted. Hyaline.

Comments: Calostoma lutescens has a yellow peridium. Calostoma ravenelii (search online) has a scurfy grayish peridium that lacks a gelatinous layer.

Calostoma lutescens (Schwein.) Burnap

COLLARED CALOSTOMA

Description: Fruitbody consisting of a peridium supported by an elongated stalk. Peridium 1.5–2 cm wide and high, oval to nearly round. Outer layer thin, gelatinous, forming a torn ring around the bottom of the inner layer. Inner layer smooth, thin-walled, yellow, with a slitlike mouth surrounded by liplike bright red ridges. Gleba white, becoming buff and powdery. Stalk 5–9 cm long, 1.5–2 cm thick, spongy, coarsely reticulate and pitted, pale yellow to brown, covered with a gelatinous layer coated with debris.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups on the ground or on well-decayed stumps in woodlands. Summer–early winter.

Edibility: Inedible.

Microscopic Features: Spores 5.5–8 × 5.5–8 µm, globose, pitted. Hyaline.

Comments: Calostoma cinnabarinum has a bright reddish-orange peridium. Calostoma ravenelii (search online) has a scurfy grayish peridium, lacking a gelatinous layer and the torn ring around the base of the peridium.

Calvatia craniiformis (Schwein.) Fr.

SKULL-SHAPED PUFFBALL

Description: Fruitbody up to 20 cm high and wide, consisting of a peridium with a conspicuous sterile base attached to the ground by white rhizomorphs. Peridium skull-shaped to pear-shaped, typically furrowed, initially smooth, cracking into irregular patches as it matures, white, becoming grayish to pale tan. Gleba white and firm, becoming greenish-yellow and finally olive-brown and powdery at maturity. Sterile base large, occupying most of the lower one-third of the fruitbody, chambered, white, becoming yellow-brown, and finally dark brown in age.

Occurrence: Solitary, scattered, or in groups in grassy areas or in woodlands. Summer–fall.

Edibility: Edible when the gleba is white.

Microscopic Features: Spores 2.5–3.5, globose, nearly smooth or with minute spines, with a very short pedicel, yellowish.

Comments: Calvatia cyathiformis (search online) is very similar, but its mature gleba is dull purple. Calvatia rubroflava (search online) is whitish and becomes yellow to orange when handled or in age.

Calvatia gigantea (Batsch) Lloyd

GIANT PUFFBALL

Description: Fruitbody consisting of a peridium and a gleba. The peridium is very large, 20–50 cm wide, nearly round or somewhat flattened, attached to the ground by a thick, cordlike basal rhizomorph. Peridium white to creamy white, soft, resembling deerskin, cracking irregularly in age. Gleba soft, white, becoming yellow-green and finally greenish-brown.

Occurrence: Solitary, scattered, or in groups in pastures, parks, golf courses, and woodlands. Summer–fall.

Edibility: Edible when the gleba is white.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3.5–5 µm, globose, weakly echinulate or nearly smooth. Pale brown.

Comments: At maturity, this soccer ball of a puffball is commonly attacked by a gray bread mold called Syzygites megalocarpus (search online). The Giant Puffball has minimal taste, but there’s a lot of it. Think of it as fungal tofu.

Geastrum fornicatum (Huds.) Hook.

ARCHED EARTHSTAR

Description: Fruitbody up to 6 cm wide when fully expanded, consisting of a peridium and starlike rays. Peridium 2–2.5 cm high and wide, rounded or somewhat flattened, attached to a short stalk that may be surrounded at the base by a tiny collar, splitting open and forming a large porelike mouth at the top when mature, whitish at first, becoming brown. Gleba firm and whitish at first, becoming blackish-brown and powdery. Rays usually 4–5, up to 5 cm long, bent strongly backward and downward, clasping a thick mass of hyphae and debris, brown.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups among leaves or organic debris in landscaped areas, or woodlands. Summer–early winter.

Edibility: Inedible.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3.5–4.5 µm, globose, warted. Dark brown.

Comments: Geastrum coronatum (search online) is very similar, but its pore mouth is sharply defined by a silky area outlined by a shallow groove.

Geastrum saccatum Fr.

ROUNDED EARTHSTAR

Description: Fruitbody up to 5 cm wide, consisting of a broadly conic to rounded peridium and starlike rays. Peridium 1.2–2 cm wide and high, broadly conic to rounded, brownish to grayish-brown, stalkless, splitting open and forming a large porelike mouth surrounded by a conspicuous paler disclike zone. Gleba white and firm at first, becoming brown to purplish-brown and powdery at maturity. Rays 5–7, bent strongly backward and downward at maturity, forming a distinct saclike container surrounding the peridium, brown.

Occurrence: Solitary, scattered, or in groups among leaf litter in woodlands. Summer–early winter.

Edibility: Inedible.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3.5–4.5 µm, globose, finely warted. Brown.

Comments: Geastrum fimbriatum (search online) is similar, but its porelike mouth lacks a conspicuous paler disclike zone. The Saltshaker Earthstar, Myriostoma coliforme (search online), has a finely roughened, silvery-brown to grayish-brown peridium with several pore mouths that open at maturity.

Lycoperdon americanum Demoulin

SPINY PUFFBALL

Description: Fruitbody consisting of a peridium and gleba. The peridium is 2.5–5 cm wide and high, nearly round or somewhat flattened, white, becoming brownish in age, coated with clusters of long white spines with fused tips that turn brown in age and fall off, leaving a netlike pattern on the surface; a pore mouth opens at maturity. Gleba firm, white at first, becoming purple-brown and powdery.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups, often among leaves and debris in woodlands. Late spring–fall.

Edibility: Edible when the gleba is white.

Microscopic Features: Spores 4–6 µm, globose, warted. Purple-brown.

Comments: Some authors consider Lycoperdon echinatum to be a synonym. A mature stage of this puffball is illustrated in the Color Key to the Major Groups of Fungi (p. 28). Lycoperdon pulcherrimum (search online) has spines that are fused at their tips, but they do not darken in age or leave marks on the peridium when they fall away.

Lycoperdon marginatum Vittad.

PEELING PUFFBALL

Description: Fruitbody consisting of a peridium and gleba. The peridium is 1–5 cm wide, supported by a somewhat tapered, sterile, stalklike base. Peridium nearly round at first, becoming slightly flattened to pear-shaped at maturity, white, covered with short spines or warts that break off in irregular sheets to expose the nearly smooth, pale to dark olive-brown or reddish-brown inner surface with a single, apical pore mouth. Gleba firm and white at first, becoming olive-brown to grayish-brown and powdery at maturity.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups on the ground, usually in mixed woods. Summer–early winter.

Edibility: Unknown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3.5–4.5 µm, globose, punctate to nearly smooth, sometimes with a short pedicel. Pale brown.

Comments: Other puffballs have spines or warts that do not break off in sheets. The Tumbling Puffball, Bovista pila (search online), has a smooth, white peridium when young that becomes brown to bronze and papery thin at maturity.

Lycoperdon perlatum Pers.

DEVIL’S SNUFFBOX, GEM-STUDDED PUFFBALL

Description: Fruitbody 2.5–8 cm high, 2–6.5 cm wide, consisting of a peridium with a large, stalklike sterile base. Peridium pear-shaped to turban-shaped, covered with short spines and granules that easily break off, white at first, becoming yellow-brown in age; a rounded, apical pore mouth appears at maturity. Gleba firm and white when young, becoming yellow to olive and finally olive-brown and powdery at maturity.

Occurrence: Solitary, scattered, or in clusters on the ground under conifers or hardwoods. Summer–early winter.

Edibility: Edible when the gleba is white.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3.5–4.5 µm, globose, weakly spiny. Pale brown.

Comments: Perlatum means “widespread,” a reference to the distribution of this common puffball. Compare with Lycoperdon pyriforme, which grows in dense clusters on wood. The Stalked Puffball, Tulostoma brumale (search online), has a small, brownish peridium supported by a slender stalk, and an elevated porelike mouth.

Lycoperdon pyriforme Schaeff.

PEAR-SHAPED PUFFBALL

Description: Fruitbody consisting of a peridium and gleba. The peridium is 1.5–5 cm wide and high, pear-shaped to nearly round, whitish at first, soon becoming yellowish- to reddish-brown, coated with tiny granules or spines, the lower portion tapered downward perhaps forming a short, sterile stalklike base that is often compressed; an apical pore opens at maturity, gleba white and firm at first, becoming greenish-yellow and finally dark olive-brown and powdery when mature.

Occurrence: Scattered or in dense, squeezed clusters on decaying wood, sawdust, or organic debris. Summer–early winter.

Edibility: Edible when the gleba is white.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3–4.5 µm, globose, smooth. Pale brown.

Comments: Pyriforme means “pear-shaped.” Compare with Lycoperdon perlatum, which has a longer stalklike sterile base and usually grows on the ground. Lycoperdon subincarnatum (see photo on p. 28) is 1–3 cm wide, has reddish- to purplish-brown spines, and grows on mossy hardwood logs and stumps.

Lycoperdon radicatum Durieu & Mont.

Description: Fruitbody 2.5–9 cm wide, nearly round to top-shaped, attached to the ground by a firm, cordlike, tapered and rooting base. Peridium white, scurfy, coated with soft, white pyramid-shaped warts that are often fused at their tips to form tiny bundles (use a hand lens), which become dull orange-yellow and wear away in age; the peridium eventually splits open at the top to form a slit or pore. Gleba white and spongy when young, becoming yellow-brown and powdery. Sterile base cup-shaped, whitish to orange-yellow.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups on soil in open areas, fields, pastures, and woodlands, especially with oak and pine. Late spring–fall.

Edibility: Unknown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 4–5 × 3.5–4.5 µm, oval, smooth, with one large oil drop and a conspicuous pedicel. Hyaline.

Comments: Bovistella radicata is a synonym.

Pisolithus arhizus (Scop.) Rauschert

DYE-MAKER’S FALSE PUFFBALL

Description: Fruitbody 5–15 or more cm high, 3.5–12 cm wide, consisting of a peridium and stalklike rooting base. Peridium tapered downward, pear-shaped to oval or club-shaped, thin, smooth, shiny, dingy yellow to yellow-brown, splitting irregularly at maturity and exposing numerous tiny yellowish to brownish peridioles embedded in a black gelatinous matrix. Gleba produced by the disintegrating peridioles is reddish-brown to dark brown and powdery at maturity.

Occurrence: Solitary, scattered, or in groups in sandy soil, usually under oaks and pines, often with Prickly Pear cactus, typically partially buried. Summer–early winter.

Edibility: Inedible.

Microscopic Features: Spores 7–12 µm, globose, spiny. Brownish.

Comments: This species is used to dye wool various shades of brown or black. Pisolithus tinctorius is a synonym.

Rhizopogon nigrescens Coker & Couch

Description: Fruitbody consisting of a peridium and gleba. The stalkless peridium is 1–4 cm wide, thin, yellowish when young, becoming dark brown to blackish, staining reddish-brown then brown when bruised. Gleba firm and whitish when young, olive-brown at maturity.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups, often partially buried, in sandy soil under pines. Summer–early winter.

Edibility: Unknown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 6–9 × 2–3.5 µm, subfusoid to oblong, smooth. Hyaline to pale yellow.

Comments: Rhizopogon atlanticus (search online) has a pinkish-cinnamon to brown peridium that does not stain when bruised, and a whitish to pale brown gleba; the spores measure 7–8.5 × 3–4 µm. Rhizopogon roseolus (see photo on p. 28) has a whitish peridium when very young; it becomes reddish-brown in age and stains reddish when bruised; the whitish to olive-buff gleba stains reddish-brown when exposed, and the spores measure 6.4–8.5 × 3–3.7 µm.

Rhopalogaster transversarius (Bosc) J. R. Johnst.

Description: Fruitbody 3–9.5 cm high, 1.5–4.5 cm wide, club-shaped, consisting of a peridium and a narrowed stalk with several basal rhizomorphs; the gleba is traversed by a central columella. Peridium scurfy, reddish- to yellowish- brown, becoming pale brownish-yellow in age, rupturing irregularly to expose the mature gleba. Columella central, whitish, extending upward from the base of the stalk and extensively branching crosswise through most of the peridium. The gleba distinctly chambered like a honeycomb, gelatinous at first, conspicuously marbled or veined, dull red to reddish-brown, slowly staining blackish when exposed, becoming olive-brown and powdery in age.

Occurrence: Solitary, scattered, or in groups on decaying organic matter including leaf litter, mulch, or wood chips in oak and pine woods. Summer–winter.

Edibility: Unknown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 5.5–7.5 × 3–4.5 µm, elliptic, smooth, pale brown.

Comments: Transversarius means “lying crosswise,” a reference to the branches of the columella.

Scleroderma bovista Fr.

Description: Fruitbody 1.5–4.5 cm wide and high, consisting of a peridium attached to the soil by a thick stalklike base. The peridium is nearly round to somewhat flattened, smooth when young, soon developing fine cracks and divided into small scalelike patches, straw yellow to reddish-brown, splitting irregularly on the top and sides in age. Gleba dark blackish-brown, powdery at maturity. The stalklike base is 5–35 mm long, 12–30 mm wide, composed of a dense mass of rhizomorphs and trapped sand.

Occurrence: Solitary, scattered, or in groups on sandy soil in grassy areas, waste areas, and oak/pine woods. Summer–fall.

Edibility: Poisonous, causing gastrointestinal distress.

Microscopic Features: Spores 10–16 µm, globose, with a partial to complete reticulum. Brown.

Comments: Bovista means “puffball.” Scleroderma meridionale (search online) is similar but has a prominent stalklike base, 2.5–9 cm long, 2–4.5 cm wide, and a thicker-walled peridium that splits into irregular lobes at maturity.

Scleroderma citrinum Pers.

COMMON EARTHBALL, PIGSKIN POISON PUFFBALL

Description: Fruitbody consisting of a peridium and gleba. The peridium is 2.5–10 cm wide and high, nearly round or somewhat flattened, thick and rindlike, pale brown to golden-brown, finely cracked and covered with coarse warts, attached to the substrate by a thick, stalklike mycelial base. The peridium wall is white in cross section, slowly staining pinkish when rubbed. An irregular pore mouth forms on the upper surface. Gleba is white, solid and firm only when very young; it soon turns dark gray to purplish-black and powdery at maturity.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups on the ground or decaying wood. Summer–fall.

Edibility: Poisonous, causing gastrointestinal distress.

Microscopic Features: Spores 8–12 µm, globose, strongly reticulate. Dull brown.

Comments: This is one of the most commonly encountered and easily identified earthballs. It is sometimes parasitized by a small bolete, Pseudoboletus parasiticus (search online), with a tawny olive cap, pale lemon yellow flesh, a similarly colored stalk, and a yellowish to olive-brown pore surface.

Scleroderma michiganense (Guzmán) Guzmán

Description: Fruitbody consisting of a peridium and gleba. The peridium is 2.5–6 cm wide and high, attached to the soil by white rhizomorphs. Peridium rounded to somewhat flattened or shaped like an inverted pear, yellowish then reddish-brown in age, staining reddish-brown when bruised, smooth to finely cracked, splitting irregularly in age. The wall of the peridium is 1–2.5 mm thick, whitish to yellowish. Gleba white when young, becoming blackish and powdery when mature.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups on sandy soil or organic debris in hardwoods. Summer–fall.

Edibility: Unknown, but likely poisonous.

Microscopic Features: Spores 14–20 µm, globose, with long spines and a complete reticulum. Dull brown.

Comments: Scleroderma cepa (search online) is very similar, but its peridium is round to slightly flattened, pale pinkish-brown to pale yellowish-brown, and becomes dark brown where handled or in age. It has smaller spores that measure 8–10 µm; they have sharp spines but lack reticulation.

Scleroderma polyrhizum (J. F. Gmel.) Pers.

EARTHSTAR SCLERODERMA

Description: Fruitbody 4–12 cm wide when closed, expanding to 16 cm and resembling a giant earthstar when fully open, attached to the ground by a rootlike mass of tough fibers. Peridium round to oval or irregular, 3–10 mm thick, hard, rindlike, rough, finely cracked to somewhat scaly, whitish to straw-colored or pale yellow-brown, splitting open into rays and exposing the gleba. Rays 4–8, thick, brown to blackish-brown. Gleba firm and white at first, becoming brown to purplish-brown and finally blackish-brown and powdery at maturity.

Occurrence: Scattered or in groups, often partially buried in sandy soil, driveways, or graveled lots. Summer–early winter.

Edibility: Poisonous, causing gastrointestinal upset.

Microscopic Features: Spores 5–10 µm, globose, spiny, sometimes forming a partial reticulum. Purple-brown.

Comments: Sometimes incorrectly spelled “polyrhizon.” Polyrhizum means “many roots,” a reference to the mass of fibers anchoring the fruitbody. Scleroderma geaster is a synonym.

Zelleromyces cinnabarinus Singer & A. H. Sm.

MILKY FALSE TRUFFLE

Description: Fruitbody consisting of a peridium and gleba. The peridium is 1–3 cm wide, connected to the substrate by white basal mycelium. The peridium is nearly round or irregularly compressed and lobed, smooth, brick red to dull orange-brown. The interior is chambered or marbled with sterile tissue and contains a distinctly branching columella. Gleba firm and orangish-white at first, exuding a white latex when fresh specimens are cut, in age becoming granular and brownish. Odor pungent like rubber or not distinctive. Taste not distinctive.

Occurrence: Scattered, in groups, or clustered on the ground or buried underground, with pines. Summer–fall.

Edibility: Unknown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 12–18 × 11–16 µm, globose to broadly elliptic, thick-walled, ornamented with warts and ridges that form a broken reticulum. Hyaline to pale yellow, amyloid.

Comments: Cinnabarinus means “the color of cinnabar,” a reference to the peridium. Rhizopogon species are similar and are also mycorrhizal with pines, but they lack latex and a columella.