Deadly
Death Cap
Amanita phalloides
Amanita buttons are smooth and white rather than scaly yellow-brown. Cut top to bottom, they show the outline of a cap, gills and stem, not a solid dark interior.
Common Earthball
Scleroderma citrinum
Toxic lookalike
Also called pigskin poison puffball, common earth ball.
The common earthball is a hard, puffball-like fungus with a thick, scaly yellow-brown rind and a firm purple-black interior. It grows on the ground in woods from summer into fall and is the poisonous species most often mistaken for an edible puffball.
The tell
A hard, thick-skinned ball with a scaly yellow-brown surface that is purple-black inside, not white.
Field marks
What to look at
Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.
- Cap
- No separate cap. A round to slightly flattened ball with a thick, tough rind, yellowish to ochre-brown, cracked into coarse scales or warts like pigskin.
- Underside
- None. The spores form inside, and the rind splits irregularly at maturity rather than opening by a neat pore.
- Stem
- None, or a short wrinkled base attached to the soil by cord-like strands.
- Flesh
- Firm. White only very briefly, soon purple-black with white veins, becoming dark powdery spores with age. The rind is thick and white in cross-section.
- Spore print
- Not taken; the spore mass is dark purple-brown to black.
- Size
- 1 to 4 inches across (2.5 to 10 cm).
Where and when
Where and when it grows
- Habitat
- Woods, trail edges and mossy banks, often near oaks, birches and conifers, and occasionally on very rotten wood.
- Grows on
- Soil. It forms partnerships with tree roots.
- Season
- Summer through fall.
- Range
- Widespread in eastern North America, with related earthballs across the continent.
Lookalikes
What the common earthball gets confused with
Each card says how to tell the two apart.
Edible when pure white insideGem-Studded Puffball
Lycoperdon perlatum
The gem-studded puffball has a thin, white skin covered in small cone-shaped spines and is pure white inside when young.
Edible when pure white insidePear-Shaped Puffball
Apioperdon pyriforme
The pear-shaped puffball grows in clusters on rotting wood, has a thin skin, and is pure white inside when young.
Edible when pure white insideGiant Puffball
Calvatia gigantea
Giant puffballs are far larger, with a smooth, thin white skin and a uniform white interior.
Edibility
What the field guides say
Toxic lookalike
Field guides list the common earthball as poisonous. Recorded symptoms are gastrointestinal, including nausea, vomiting and stomach pain, and usually begin within a few hours. A specific toxin has not been well characterized. It is the mushroom most often confused with true puffballs; the dark interior is the clearest difference.
This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.
FAQ
Questions about the common earthball
Is the common earthball poisonous?
Yes. Field guides list it as poisonous, causing nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps within a few hours of being eaten. It is not related to the edible puffballs, although it looks similar from the outside.
How do you tell an earthball from a puffball?
Cut in half, an earthball is firm and purple-black inside with a thick white rind. A young puffball is soft and pure white throughout with a thin skin. Earthballs also have a coarse, scaly, yellow-brown surface.
Where do earthballs grow?
On the ground in woods, along trails and on mossy banks, usually near oaks, birches or conifers. They grow mycorrhizal with tree roots and appear from summer into fall.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Scleroderma citrinum
MushroomExpert.com
- Scleroderma citrinum
Fungi Growing on Wood, Gary Emberger (MushroomExpert.com)
- Pigskin Puffball (Common Earthball)
Missouri Department of Conservation
- Scleroderma citrinum
Index Fungorum
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