devil's snuff-box

Description:

A very bad song by Madonna is improved immeasurably if you walk through the woods singing: "Lycoperdon, puffed for the very first time . . ." Probably the most common woodland puffball in North America, Lycoperdon perlatum is widely distributed and easily recognized, despite the fact that it is very variable in appearance. It grows on the ground, which helps separate it from Morganella pyriformis, which grows on wood. It has a fairly substantial stem-like portion, which makes the shape of the mushroom rather like an inverted pear. And, when young and fresh, it is covered with tiny spines. The spines often rub off by maturity, but they usually leave little scars where they were attached ( http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lycoperdon... )

Habitat:

location: North America, Europe edibility: Edible fungus colour: White to cream, Grey to beige normal size: 5-15cm cap type: Other stem type: Lateral, rudimentary or absent spore colour: Light to dark brown habitat: Grows in woods, Grows on the ground Lycoperdon perlatum Pers. syn. L. gemmatum Batsch Flaschenstäubling Vesse-de-loup à pierreries, Common Puffball. Fruit body 2.5–6cm across, 2–9cm high, subglobose with a distinct stem, white at first becoming yellowish brown, outer layer of short pyramidal warts especially dense on the head, rubbing off to leave an indistinct mesh-like pattern on the inner wall which opens by a pore. Gleba olive-brown at maturity; sterile base spongy, occupying the stem. Spores olivaceous-brown, globose, minutely warted, 3.5–4.5m. Habitat woodland. Season summer to late autumn. Common. Edible and good -when the flesh is pure white. Distribution, America and Europe ( http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/D... )

Notes:

Scientific name: Lycoperdon perlatum Pers. Derivation of name: Perlat- means "widespread" perhaps in reference to the broad distribution of this species in North America. Synonyms: Lycoperdon gemmatum Batsch Common name(s): Gem-studded puffball; Devil's snuffbox. Phylum: Basidiomycota Order: Agaricales Family: Lycoperdaceae Occurrence on wood substrate: Saprobic; solitary to scattered or clustered on the ground or sometimes on well- decayed wood or mulch; July through October. Dimensions: Fruit bodies are 2.5-6.5 cm wide and 2.5-8 cm tall. Description: This puffball species is round to pear or turban- shaped usually with an elongate, stalk-like base. When young it is white and covered with conical white spines with shorter spines and granules between them. With maturity the longer conical spines are usually broken off leaving a pattern of pits or net-like scars on an aging yellow-brown surface. The spore- producing internal tissue (gleba) is moist and white at first, turning olive-brown and powdery when mature. A pore-like mouth forms (the ostiole) at the apex at maturity allowing spores to be "puffed out" when the outer case is disturbed by raindrops or twigs striking it. Edibility: Edible. Comments: This species is edible only when the internal spore tissue (gleba) is completely white and uniform in appearance. Care must be taken not to confuse puffballs with young stages of Amanita species which are enclosed by a universal veil. A longitudinal section of a young Amanita will reveal some tissue differentiation into gills. Gills never occur in puffballs ( http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wo... ), ( http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Li... ), ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycoperdon_... )