devil's snuff-box

Description:

The fruit body ranges in shape from pear-like with a flattened top, to nearly spherical, and reaches dimensions of 1.5 to 6 cm (0.6 to 2.4 in) wide by 3 to 7 cm (1.2 to 2.8 in) tall. It has a stem-like base. The outer surface of the fruit body (the exoperidium) is covered in short cone-shaped spines that are interspersed with granular warts. The spines, which are whitish, gray, or brown, can be easily rubbed off, and leave reticulate pock marks or scars after they are removed. The base of the puffball is thick, and has internal chambers. It is initially white, but turns yellow, olive, or brownish in age. The reticulate pattern resulting from the rubbed-off spines is less evident on the base. In maturity, the exoperidium at the top of the puffball sloughs away, revealing a pre-formed hole (ostiole) in the endoperidium, through which the spores can escape. In young puffballs, the internal contents, the gleba, is white and firm, but turns brown and powdery as the spores mature. The gleba contains minute chambers that are lined with hymenium (the fertile, spore-bearing tissue); the chambers collapse when the spores mature

Habitat:

Lycoperdon perlatum grows solitarily, scattered, or in groups or clusters on the ground. It can also grow in fairy rings. Typical habitats include woods, grassy areas, and along roads. It has been reported from Pinus patula plantations in Tamil Nadu, India. The puffball sometimes confuses golfers because of its resemblance to a golfball when viewed from a distance. It is widely distributed, and has been reported from Africa (Tanzania), Asia (Himalayas, Japan), Australia, and South America (Brazil). In North America, where it is considered the most common puffball species, it ranges from Alaska to Mexico

Notes:

The specific epithet perlatum is Latin for "widespread". It is commonly known as the common puffball, the gem-studded puffball (or gemmed puffball), the warted puffball, or the devil's snuff-box. --Lycoperdon perlatum is considered to be a good edible mushroom when young, when the gleba is still homogeneous and white. They have been referred to as "poor man's sweetbread" due to their texture and flavor. The fruit bodies can be eaten by slicing and frying in batter or egg and breadcrumbs, or used in soups. The puffballs become inedible as they mature: the gleba becomes yellow-tinged then finally develops into a mass of powdery olive-green spores. The immature 'buttons' or 'eggs' of deadly Amanita species can be confused with puffballs. For this reason puffballs being collected for the table should always be sliced vertically and inspected for the internal developing structures of a mushroom. Amanitas will generally not have 'jewels' or a bumpy external surface. The spores are ornamented with many sharp microscopic spines and can cause severe irritation of the lung (lycoperdonosis) when deliberately inhaled. This condition has been reported to afflict dogs that play or run where puffballs are present.