Lycoperdon Pyriforme
Lycoperdon pyriformePear-shaped Puffball
Peridium or Pouch - Pear-shaped. Dingy white or brownish, with mycelium of long, white, branching fibres. Diameter 3/4-1 1/4 inches. Height 1-2 inches.
Bark or Outer Coat - Thin; of minute, often persistent, scales or granules, or short, stout spinules. Whitish grey or brownish.
Inner Coat - Smooth, papery, whitish grey or brownish, opening by apical mouth.
Subgleba - Small, white, quite compact, the cells minute.
Columella - Present.
Spores - Globose, even, greenish yellow to brownish olive.
Threads - Branched, long, forming a dense tuft in the centre.
Time - July to October.
Habitat - On old timber or on the ground, in groups sometimes several feet across in extent. The commonest of puffballs, and found throughout the world.