Gem-studded Puffball

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Gem-studded Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum)	Gems

Gem-studded Puffball

sculpture, acrylic paint

This small, white to brown, pear- to top-shaped puffball, 1 to 2-3/8 inches across and 1-1/4 to 3 inches tall, is easy to recognize because it's covered with tiny spines. It develops a pore on top when mature, through which the spores escape. It rests on a stalk-like, chambered, white to brown base.

Description

Gem-studded puffball

Gem-studded Puffball, young specimen

The spines make this white puffball easy to distinguish from other small puffballs.

The inside of the puffball begins soft and white.

Gem-studded Puffball, split

Gem-studded Puffball, young specimen, split open

Note the undifferentiated, white interior.

Then the inside becomes an unappetizing green-brown. The mature spores are olive brown.

Gem-studded Puffballs, young and old specimens

Note the color change inside.

Look-Alikes

The pear-shaped puffball, also a choice edible, resembles this mushroom, but the former is lacks the spines and grows on dead wood.

Poisonous earthballs (Scleroderma) begin white inside, but they soon turn black, and they're always hard, whereas this puffball is always soft.

Always cut open small puffballs to make sure there are no gills or stem inside, indicating possibly deadly amanitas.

Habitat

Look for this mushroom on the ground, where it decomposes organic material, in the woods and in cultivated areas, throughout the US. It often appears in the same place year after year, sometimes in great quantity.

Gem-studded Puffballs

This mushroom often grows in clusters.

Season

You can find this mushroom from early summer to fall.

Cooking

Slice this choice mushroom, sauté it, steam it, or simmer it in soups, like other mushrooms.

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It has a mild to moderate flavor intensity, so don't drown out with other strong-flavored ingredients. It dehydrates well.