Common Puffball

Edibility

Inedible Source: Wikipedia: Lycoperdon perlatum

Classification from Wikipedia: Lycoperdon perlatum. Sources can be wrong or incomplete, and people react differently.

Never eat a wild mushroom based on this site or any app.

Photos

Lookalikes

No lookalikes are recorded for this species yet. That does not mean there are none. Many mushrooms look alike, so never rely on appearance alone.

Season

When this species has been recorded, by month, from open-licensed US and Canada observations. It shows when people report it, not a guarantee it is fruiting.

The highlighted bar is the current month.

Where it is found

States and provinces with the most records. Check the foraging rules for the place you plan to visit.

• Pennsylvania 361 records · Foraging rules
• New York 317 records · Foraging rules
• California 237 records · Foraging rules
• Ontario 229 records · Foraging rules
• Ohio 186 records · Foraging rules
• British Columbia 165 records · Foraging rules
• Colorado 158 records · Foraging rules
• Washington 141 records · Foraging rules
• Wisconsin 135 records · Foraging rules
• North Carolina 133 records · Foraging rules
• Illinois 132 records · Foraging rules
• Virginia 116 records · Foraging rules
• Idaho 110 records · Foraging rules
• Quebec 100 records · Foraging rules
• Indiana 89 records · Foraging rules

All state and province foraging laws

Identification traits

Traits vary. Use them to ask better questions of an expert, not to make a final call.

About

Lycoperdon perlatum, popularly known as the common puffball, warted puffball, gem-studded puffball or devil's snuff-box, is a species of puffball fungus in the family Agaricaceae. It is a medium-sized puffball with a round fruit body tapering to a wide stalk, and dimensions of 1.5 to 6 cm (1⁄2 to 2+1⁄4 in) wide by 3 to 10 cm (1+1⁄4 to 4 in) tall. It is off-white with a top covered in short spiny bumps or "jewels", which are easily rubbed off to leave a netlike pattern on the surface. When mature it becomes brown and a hole in the top opens to release spores in a burst when the body is compressed by touch or falling raindrops. A widespread species with a cosmopolitan distribution, the species grows in fields, gardens, and grassy clearings. It is edible when young and the internal flesh is completely white, although care must be taken to avoid confusion with immature fruit bodies of poisonous Amanita species. L. perlatum can usually be distinguished from similar puffballs by differences in surface texture. Several chemical compounds have been isolated and identified from the fruit bodies of L. perlatum, including sterol derivatives, volatile compounds that give the puffball its flavor and odor, and the unusual amino acid lycoperdic acid. Extracts of the puffball have antimicrobial and antifungal activities.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the original article.