Lycoperdon perlatum, popularly known as the common puffball, warted puffball, gem-studded puffball or devil's snuff-box, is a species of puffball fungus in the family Agaricaceae. It is a medium-sized puffball with a round fruit body tapering to a wide stalk, and dimensions of 1.5 to 6 cm (1⁄2 to 2+1⁄4 in) wide by 3 to 10 cm (1+1⁄4 to 4 in) tall. It is off-white with a top covered in short spiny bumps or "jewels", which are easily rubbed off to leave a netlike pattern on the surface.
Source: Wikipedia
| Season | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Distribution
Widespread, one of our most common species
Habitat
In both deciduous and coniferous woodland, on soil and leaf litter, rarely on wood
Conservation
Fruiting Body
Pestle-shaped, pear-shaped
| Width | 1.5 - 4 cm |
|---|
Exoperidium
| Colour |
|---|
Endoperidium
With narrow white spines surrounded by shorter, rounded warts. When spines fall off or are removed they leave a mosaic of round scars
| Colour |
|---|
Gleba
| Colour |
|---|
Stem
Spiny
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Height | 2 - 6 cm |
| Width | 2 - 3 mm |
Spores
Small warts up to 0.3μm high
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Globose |
| Ornamentation | Warty |
| Size | 3-4 x 3-4 μm |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Agaricales
- ↳ Family: Lycoperdaceae
- ↳ Genus: Lycoperdon
Synonyms
- Lycoperdon bonordenii Massee
- Lycoperdon gemmatum Batsch
- Lycoperdon gemmatum var. perlatum (Pers.) Fr.
- Lycoperdon perlatum Pers. per Pers.
- Lycoperdon perlatum var. bonordenii (Massee) Perdeck
- Lycoperdon perlatum var. perlatum
- Lycoperdon perlatum var. perlatum Pers.
Reference Sources
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 2. Princeton University Press.
R. Phillips (2006) Mushrooms. Macmillan.
G. Kibby (2020) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 1. Geoffrey Kibby.
Genus Lycoperdon
No other species found in this genus.
