Description / Morphology

     Common puffballs (Lycoperdon perlatum) can be found in clusters or solitary and have a club-, pear-. or pestle-shape. They usually have a slight bump at the center and a well-developed sterile base. Puffballs usually stand 3 to 8 inches tall and 2 to 4 centimeters wide. They have a whitish color at first but change to a cream to pale brown color as they mature. The surface of the puffball is covered in fragile conical (cone shaped) spines surrounded by tiny warts, creating a net like pattern.

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     The subgleba (stem tissue) is well developed and full of small cavities. The gleba (internal spore-producing tissue) is white at first but becomes olive-brown as it matures, eventually forming a powdery spore mass. When fully mature the puffballs open through a well-defined apical pore, releasing the spores. When the wall of the fruitbody is squeezed, tapped, or struck by raindrops it acts as a bellows and causes spores to be puffed out in a smoke-like mass.

     The common puffball is one of 13 species of the genus that can be found in Britain. The fruit bodies are considered edible when young, before the spore mass develops and while the gleba is still white. Common puffballs have been reported to accumulate mercury and lead in their fruitbodies. Inhalation of spores from common puffballs and other puffball species can lead to a lung disease know as lycoperdonosis.^[2]

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Distribution / Ecology

     Puffballs grow in soil or on decayed wood (sometimes mulch), generally in woodland, and are common along roadsides. They are distributed worldwide, including many tropical regions. Though most common in Britain and northern Europe. They generally appear in the summer and fall in temperate regions, though they grow all year in warmer areas like California. Puffballs can appear in clusters or alone.^[2][3]

Growth / Reproduction

     Puffballs form a apical spore that opens once they are fully mature and releases spores. When the wall of the fruitbody is squeezed, tapped, or struck by raindrops it acts as a bellows and causes spores to be puffed out in a smoke-like mass. These spores are then spread allowing new organisms to grow.^[2]

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Fungi

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycotina

Order: Agaricales

Family: Agaricaceae

Genus: Lycoperdon

Species: Lycoperdon perlatum

 Common name: Puffballs 

Human Use / Role in Culture

     Puffballs primary uses are culinary and medical. They are edible when they are young and are a culinary favorite in some countries. They can also be used as a styptic to staunch blood flow, as well as a painkiller, for stomach aches, and to reduce swelling, fever and coughing.^[2] 

Sources
[1] Armstrong, Wayne P. Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) in coastal San Diego County. Digital image. Wayne's Word. Palomar College, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 9 Mar. 2012. <http://waynesword.palomar.edu/puffball.htm>.

[2]"Lycoperdon Perlatum (common Puffball)." Plants & Fungi: Lycoperdon Perlatum (common Puffball). Ed. Brian Spooner. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Lycoperdon-perlatum.htm>.

[3]Kuo, Michael. "Puffballs (MushroomExpert.Com)." MushroomExpert.Com. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.mushroomexpert.com/puffballs.html>.

[4]BBC News. BBC. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/pictures/visions_science/pop_up_01.shtml>.