Common Earthball

Common Earthball Scleroderma citrinum Pers. (illustrated 50% life size) Fruit body 2–10cm across, subglobose, attached to the substrate by cord-like mycelial threads; outer wall dirty yellow to ochre-brown, thick and tough, coarsely scaly, breaking open irregularly. Gleba purplish-black at first and patterned by whitish veins, becoming powdery when mature. Spores 9–13¼ in diameter, globose, with a net-like ornamentation; brown. Habitat on mossy or peaty ground on heaths or in rich woodland, especially those on sandy soil; late summer to early winter. Very common. Not edible. Note this species is sometimes parasitized by the fungus Pseudoboletus parasiticus.