Common puffball or Pestle puffball

The fruiting body is inverted pear-shaped or club-shaped, 2-6 cm tall, 1.5-4 cm wide at the top. The upper (fertile) part is a rounded head; the lower (sterile) part is a narrowed “stalk” 1-3 cm long. Color: young ones are white or cream; with age yellowish grey to brown. A telltale feature — the surface is covered in coarse spiny warts (1-2 mm) that gradually fall off, leaving a net-like trace.

Fruiting body skittle-shaped, 10-20 (up to 30) cm tall, 4-10 cm wide at the top. The upper (fertile) part is a round or egg-shaped head with a rounded tip; the lower (sterile) part is a cylindrical, elongated “stalk”. Color: young ones are white, later cream, then yellowish brown. The surface is smooth or finely warty at first, later cracking into coarser scales, and the top opens to expose the spore mass.

Internal hymenophore (gleba). The young gleba is white, dense and uniform. With age it turns yellow, then green, and becomes a dark olive-grey powdery spore mass. At the top of a mature fruiting body an opening forms, through which the spores puff out when a raindrop hits (hence the Ukrainian name, “rain mushroom”). Spore print dark olive-brown.

The hymenophore is internal (gleba), as in all puffballs. The young gleba is white, dense and uniform. With age it turns yellow, then green, then becomes a dark olive-brown powdery mass of spores. Spore print dark olive-brown.

There is no separate stem — the fruiting body is all one piece. The lower sterile part is a “stalk-base” 1-3 cm tall, somewhat narrower than the top, white and scaly, passing into whitish rhizomorphs (mycelial cords) in the soil.

Not a separate part — the fruiting body is one piece, skittle-shaped. The “stalk” is the lower sterile part of the same fruiting body, cylindrical, white, scaly in old ones. There is no ring.

The flesh of young ones is pure white, uniform, dense, with a delicate pleasant flavor. With age it turns yellow, then green, and becomes a spore mass. The test: cut it open: uniform white = good to eat; any other color = throw it out.

The flesh in young ones is white, uniform and firm, with a delicate taste reminiscent of chicken breast. With age it turns yellow, then green, and becomes a spore mass. Check before cooking: if the cut shows uniform white — it's good; any yellowish or greenish tint — throw it out.

Faint, pleasant mushroomy smell with no sharp notes. Taste mild and neutral — it takes on the flavors of the dish.

A faint, pleasant mushroomy smell. The taste is mild and delicate.