Species details

Mosaic puffball

Bovistella utriformis

Conditional / expert preparation

Description

A large grassland puffball with a whitish surface cracking into broad pyramidal warts; edible only while young and the gleba is completely white.

Identification features

The fruitbody is about 10–16 cm wide, globose to pear-shaped, with a very short thick sterile base. The surface begins whitish, later grey-brown and cracks into broad pyramidal warts.

Identification checklist

Check size, grassland habitat, the pyramidal cracked outer skin and a completely white homogeneous gleba in section. Any yellowing or greening indicates maturation.

How to separate similar species

Giant puffball is larger and smoother; tall puffballs have a more pronounced stem-like base. Internal colour is crucial, not just outer appearance.

Habitat

Grows on sunny meadows and pastures, often in arcs or groups, in late summer and autumn.