Species details
Pestle puffball
Lycoperdon excipuliforme
Traditionally edible
Photo: Rosser1954 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo source · License
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Description
A tall pear-shaped puffball with a long sterile lower portion; edible only when young and the inside of the spore-bearing part is completely white.
Identification features
The fruitbody is 4–17 cm tall, often with a long wrinkled lower portion. It is white and spiny when young, later yellowing and browning; mature gleba becomes spore dust.
Identification checklist
Check the tall pear shape, long sterile lower portion and white interior in young specimens.
How to separate similar species
For food use, the inside of the spore-bearing portion must be completely white and homogeneous. Yellow, green or brown means mature.
Habitat
Grows on woodland soil, forest edges and grassy places from summer to late autumn.
Fruiting period
June, July, August, September, October, November
Similar species
- Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum)
- Flaky puffball (Lycoperdon mammiforme)
- Lycoperdon pratense