Puffballs & the like

How to report puffball & the like sightings

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.

Categories

Featured sightings

Latest sightings

Moderators

Become a moderator for Puffballs & the like

Become a moderator

Announcements

Discussion

Significant sightings

• Myriostoma australianum at Cook, ACT
• Geastrum tenuipes at Broughton Vale, NSW

Recent activity

Calvatia sp. at Isaacs, ACT

Calvatia sp. at Kambah, ACT

Calvatia sp. at Isaacs, ACT

Calvatia sp. at Kambah, ACT

Calostoma fuscum at Uriarra Village, ACT

Calostoma fuscum at Uriarra Village, ACT

Species Richness Score (SRS)

3

Top contributors

• trevorpreston 48
• TimL 39
• JackyF 30
• AlisonMilton 29
• Teresa 28
• KenT 26
• AaronClausen 19
• Heino1 19
• Mike 19
• LisaH 15

Top moderators

• Heino1 306
• MichaelMulvaney 88
• KenT 65
• Heino 54
• Teresa 30
• CanberraFungiGroup 20
• Csteele4 17
• JTran 4
• waltraud 2
• KerryVance 2