Mosaic Puffball

Mosaic Puffball Handkea utriformis (Bull.) Pers. syn. Calvatia utriformis (Bull.) Jaap (illustrated 30% life size) Fruit body 6–12cm across, squat and pear-shaped when mature, tapering towards base; white to pale grey-brown, finally darker brown; outer wall of scurfy warts soon breaking up into hexagonal patches; fragile inner wall flakes off irregularly at the top. Gleba powdery, olivaceous-brown; sterile base thick, up to half of the fruit body. Spores 4–5¼ in diameter, globose, warted; olive-brown. Habitat in pastures or on heaths, usually on sandy soil; summer to late autumn, but cup-shaped sterile bases often persist to the next season. Frequent. Edible when young.