# Common Puffball (*Lycoperdon*)

The Common Puffball is a small, round fungus that can also puff out spores! It's fun to find in grassy areas.

- **Category:** [Fungi](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/fungi)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Snaps:** 2
- **Habitat:** In grassy areas and forests
- **Also known as:** Puffball

![Common Puffball](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Single_lycoperdon_perlatum.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Daniel Ullrich, Threedots, CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Single_lycoperdon_perlatum.jpg)

## Appearance

The Common Puffball is a pear-shaped fungus, typically white to yellowish-brown, covered in distinctive small, cone-shaped spines or warts. These warts often fall off as it ages, leaving a net-like pattern. Its soft, white interior eventually turns into powdery, olive-brown spores.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Fungi
- **Phylum:** Basidiomycota
- **Class:** Agaricomycetes
- **Order:** Agaricales
- **Family:** Lycoperdaceae
- **Genus:** Lycoperdon

## Interesting facts

- Some giant puffball relatives can grow as big as a soccer ball!
- This mushroom has no gills or cap; it's just one big spore-filled ball!
- Touching an old puffball releases millions of tiny spores that look like brown dust.
- Young puffballs are edible, but only when their insides are pure white!

## Special abilities

- **Spore Cannon:** Common Puffball can release a cloud of millions of spores when squeezed, like a puff of smoke, helping it spread far and wide.
- **Disappearing Act:** The puffball's spiky exterior can wear away as it ages, changing its look to a smoother, net-like surface.
- **Nature's Decomposer:** Common Puffball has special enzymes that help it break down dead plant matter, returning nutrients to the soil.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 3-10 cm
- **Edible:** edible
- **Size:** 2-8 cm
- **Growth Substrate:** soil
- **Season:** Late Summer to Fall
- **Spore Color:** Olive-brown

## Ecological connections

- **Eaten by:** [Black Slug](https://www.snappit.app/explore/black-slug) (*Arion ater*) — Slugs are known to consume various fungi.
- **Depends on:** [European Beech](https://www.snappit.app/explore/european-beech) (*Fagus sylvatica*) — Decomposes fallen leaves and wood from this tree.
- **Eaten by:** Fungus Gnat (*Mycetophila fungorum*) — Larvae feed on the mushroom's tissues.
- **Eaten by:** [Field Vole](https://www.snappit.app/explore/field-vole) (*Microtus agrestis*) — Small mammals occasionally forage on puffballs.

## Traits

- [Shade Tolerant](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/shade-tolerant): Shade tolerant plants are adapted to grow and thrive in areas with low light levels, requiring less direct sunlight.
- [Spore Producing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/spore-producing): Spore-producing organisms reproduce by releasing small, often single-celled, reproductive units called spores.
- [Forest](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/forest): Forest habitats are terrestrial environments dominated by dense tree cover, supporting a high diversity of plant and animal life.

## Collections

- [Fungi](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/fungi)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Do not pick or eat anything you find. Some plants and mushrooms can be harmful.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Common Puffball?

Compare the cap shape, the underside, the stem and base, and whether the fungus grows on wood or soil. Some fungi have gills, others pores or teeth. A cap seen only from above often hides the most useful features. Mushroom Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is Common Puffball?

3-10 cm

### Is Common Puffball edible?

edible

### How big is Common Puffball?

2-8 cm

### Where is Common Puffball usually found?

In grassy areas and forests

### What does Common Puffball grow on?

soil

### When is Common Puffball in season?

Late Summer to Fall

### What color are Common Puffball spores?

Olive-brown

## Where to spot

- [Bald Eagle State Forest](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/bald-eagle-state-forest) — Pennsylvania, US · Forest
- [Concord](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/concord) — Tennessee, US · Neighborhood

## More Fungi

- [Field Mushroom](https://www.snappit.app/explore/field-mushroom) (*Agaricus*)
- [Button Mushroom](https://www.snappit.app/explore/button-mushroom) (*Agaricus*)
- [Portobello Mushroom](https://www.snappit.app/explore/portobello-mushroom) (*Agaricus*)
- [Shiitake](https://www.snappit.app/explore/shiitake) (*Lentinula*)

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Source: [Common Puffball: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-puffball)