Puffballs & the like
At maturity, the fruitbodies of the fungi in this group generally contain prodigious quantities of powdery spores. The fruitbodies may be spherical to pear-shaped or somewhat columnar in shape and range from less than a centimetre to over 30 centimetres in extent. Spores are mostly some shade of brown, from pale yellow-brown to dark brown, depending on species.
Almost all species produce their fruitbodies on the ground, a few produce them on on wood.
In the following hints you see examples of useful identification features and a few of the more commonly seen genera in which at least some species (not necessarily all) show those features.
Hints
Spore mass lilac: Calvatia.
Fruitbody over 30 centimetres in diameter: Calvatia.
Warning
If you have a flattish fruitbody, with purplish-black powdery spores inside a thin, brittle crust - check the slime mould Fuligo septica.
Announcements
Hi All,Busy times at the moment for the team.NatureMapr is critical "nature positive" infrastructure for a nation that values it's biodiversity in the year 2025.Thanks to important support from our ma...
Continue reading
IMPORTANT NatureMapr Data Collector 6.2.0 mobile app update
Known issue affecting user registration via naturemapr mobile app
Discussion
Scleroderma sp.
Scleroderma sp.
Unidentified Fruitbody thick walled, splitting from the top
Top contributors
- trevorpreston 48
- TimL 39
- Teresa 30
- JackyF 30
- AlisonMilton 29
- KenT 26
- AaronClausen 19
- Mike 19
- Heino1 19
- LisaH 15
Top moderators
- Heino1 309
- MichaelMulvaney 89
- KenT 65
- Heino 54
- Teresa 44
- Pam 28
- CanberraFungiGroup 20
- Csteele4 18
- Heinol 4
- JTran 4
