Spiny Puffball Lycoperdon echinatum Pers. (illustrated 50% life size) Fruit body 2–5cm across, subglobose, tapering into a short stem; white, becoming brown; outer layer forming pointed spines 3–5mm long, convergent at the tips in groups of 3 or 4, leaving a net-like pattern when they have become detached; opening by a central pore. Gleba purple-brown at maturity; sterile base occupying stem, often small. Spores 4–6¼ in diameter, globose, warted; brown. Habitat in deciduous woods and on heaths; summer to late autumn. Occasional. Not edible.
