Pear-Shaped Puffball

Apioperdon pyriforme

Edible when pure white inside

Also called stump puffball, lycoperdon pyriforme.

The pear-shaped puffball is a small brownish-white puffball that grows in crowded clusters on rotting logs and stumps. It is the common puffball found on wood rather than soil, and it fruits from summer into fall.

Brown, pear-shaped puffballs growing at the base of a moss-covered tree trunk

The tell

Small pear-shaped puffballs in dense clusters on rotting wood, joined at the base by white cords.

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. Pear-shaped to round, whitish when young and soon yellow-brown to tan. The surface has fine granules or tiny spines that wear off, leaving it smooth.
Underside
None. The spores form inside, and a pore opens at the top at maturity.
Stem
A short, narrowed sterile base rather than a true stem, attached to the wood by white cord-like strands. No ring and no cup.
Flesh
Firm and pure white when young, turning yellowish, then olive-brown and powdery as the spores mature.
Spore print
Not taken; the mature spore mass is olive-brown.
Size
0.75 to 1.75 inches wide (2 to 4.5 cm) and 1 to 2 inches tall (2.5 to 5 cm).

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
Rotting logs, stumps and buried wood in hardwood and conifer forests, usually in dense groups.
Grows on
Decaying wood, including wood buried in soil.
Season
Summer through fall; old, empty specimens can persist into winter.
Range
Widespread across North America.

Lookalikes

What the pear-shaped puffball gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

  1. Compare side by side

Edibility

What the field guides say

Edible when pure white inside

Field guides list the pear-shaped puffball as edible only while the interior is firm and pure white throughout. Once the flesh yellows or turns olive, guides record digestive upset. As with other puffballs, the confusions that matter are young Amanita buttons, which contain amatoxins, and earthballs, which are poisonous.

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 pear-shaped puffball

Are puffballs on wood edible?

The pear-shaped puffball, the common puffball on wood, is listed in field guides as edible while the inside is pure white. Older specimens that are yellow, olive or powdery inside are past that stage.

What does a pear-shaped puffball look like?

It is a small tan to whitish puffball shaped like a pear, growing in crowded clusters on logs and stumps. White cords attach the base to the wood, and a small hole opens at the top when the spores are ripe.

Where do pear-shaped puffballs grow?

On rotting logs, stumps and buried wood in both hardwood and conifer forests across North America. They often cover a single log in dense groups from summer into fall.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  1. Lycoperdon pyriforme

    MushroomExpert.com

  2. Apioperdon pyriforme

    Fungi Growing on Wood, Gary Emberger (MushroomExpert.com)

  3. Pear-Shaped Puffball

    Missouri Department of Conservation

  4. Apioperdon pyriforme

    Index Fungorum

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