Puffballs and earthballs.

[Gerel]

Hi all.

A couple from last weekend both found at the edges of forestry roads through a conifer plantation. In both cases the verge had been colonised by willows, birch and a variety of herbaceous plants so they were not necessarily associated with the conifers.

1. Quite a large puffball, approximately 12cm tall, Lycoperdon/Calvatia excipuliformis? There were several present, this was the most photogenic .



The youngster at its base doesn't look like any pictures I can find.



2. Much smaller, C. 10mm across, growing through the gravel at the edge of the track. Possibly something like Scleroderma areolatum?



I didn't notice them at the time or I'd have got a better picture but is there something else growing in the upper left of the above shot?



It looks to me to be full of capsules, almost like a birds-nest type but it may just be an illusion.

Steve

[Ditiola]

Hi
The first one is Lycoperdon excipuliformis, I expect the little one may be typical of very early specimens but I have not seen one at this stage to be sure.

The second one may be a scleroderma (Earthball) but is more likely to be a Lycoperdon (Puffball) but it is nor possible to say from the photo. The main differences are that in Lycoperdon there is a sterile (without spores) spongy base to the fruit body, and inside there is an entanglement of fine threads (Capilitium) that hold the spores and the spores are released through an apical hole (ostiole) These features are not present in the earthball although earthballs do sometimes split into a hole at the top.

The other specimen in the photo is not a 'Birds Nest Fungus'

Peter