How to tell Stump puffball from Common earthball

Fruit body pear-shaped or inverted-egg-shaped, 2-5 cm tall, 1.5-3.5 cm wide at the top. The upper (fertile) part is a rounded head; the lower (sterile) part is a narrowed “stem” 1-2 cm long. Color: young ones are white, cream, turning yellowish-brown to dark brown with age. The surface is covered with small warts and scales that rub off over time. In mature specimens the top dies back, exposing the olive spore mass.

The fruiting body is globular or flattened, 3-10 cm across, WITHOUT a distinct “stalk” (it sits on the ground). Color: yellow-brown, ochre-yellow, darker and browner with age. The skin is thick, hard, like a shell, with coarse, prominent scaly warts. This sets it fundamentally apart from the thin-skinned edible puffballs. In mature specimens the top splits into ragged pieces, exposing the spore mass.

The hymenophore is internal (gleba). The young gleba is white, firm and uniform. With age it turns yellow, then green, and becomes a dark olive powdery spore mass. Spore print dark olive-brown.

Internal hymenophore (gleba). The young gleba is already dark purple-black — this is the key diagnostic feature that distinguishes it from the white gleba of true puffballs. Often with white or greyish veins (a “marbled” pattern). With age it turns into a dark grey-black powdery mass. Spore print dark purple-black.

There is no separate stem — the fruit body is all one piece. The lower sterile part is a “stem” 1-2 cm tall, white and scaly, passing into whitish rhizomorphs (mycelial cords) that anchor the mushroom to the wood.

There is no separate stem. The fruiting body is attached to the soil by a short tuft of white rhizomorphs. Unlike true puffballs, there is no distinct “stalk-base.”

flesh in young ones is white, uniform, soft, with a delicate flavor. 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 other color — throw it away.

The flesh is, already at a young age, dark purple-black or grey-black, sometimes with thin white veins (marbled). When cut, this color is unambiguous — it is a sign of poison. In true edible puffballs the young flesh is uniformly white.

Faint, pleasant mushroomy smell. Mild taste with a subtle nutty note.

Chemical, unpleasant, sometimes with a hint of rubber or phenol — a telltale difference from the pleasant mushroomy smell of edible puffballs. Taste: do not taste it.