About this fungus
Rimmed Puffball is a fungus in the Lycoperdaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A small, subdued puffball anchored by a conspicuous cord on bare acidic sand, becoming cracked and dark-spored with age.
What to check
Section young fruit bodies from top to base to confirm a uniform white interior with no developing cap, gills or stem. For species identification examine the coarsely ornamented spores and long pedicels microscopically.
Variation
Young fruit bodies are pale and nearly smooth. Older ones become ochre-brown to purplish grey, develop patchy surface remnants and open by an irregular apical pore.
Lookalikes
Lycoperdon marginatum has a more conspicuously peeling or spiny outer layer. Several small puffballs overlap, while unopened Amanita buttons show internal mushroom structures when sectioned.
Habitat and range
A rare species of dry nutrient-poor acidic sand, described from North America and known from scattered continental European and Asian sites.
Food safety
Inedible.
Species to compare
Similar mushrooms to compare against: