Common Earthball vs Giant Puffball
Scleroderma citrinum and Calvatia gigantea are confused for one another often enough to be worth putting next to each other.
Hard, warty and black inside — sometimes sold or eaten as a truffle substitute, which ends badly.
Can reach football size. Edible only while pure white all the way through — yellowing means it is done.
Side by side
| Scleroderma citrinum | Calvatia gigantea | |
|---|---|---|
| In this game | Poisonous | Edible |
| Habitat | Acid soil and mossy banks in woodland, often on paths and old stumps. | Rich pasture, meadows, hedgerows and nettle patches. |
| Season | Summer to late autumn. | Summer to autumn. |
| Spore print | Blackish-brown spore mass, never a print. | Olive-brown spore mass once ripe. |
The recorded spore prints differ: blackish-brown spore mass, never a print for Scleroderma citrinum, olive-brown spore mass once ripe for Calvatia gigantea. That is one documented difference, not a test you can pass.
This comparison cannot make a mushroom safe to eat. It sets out the few characteristics this game records, in general terms, for two species that vary by region, age and growing conditions. Real specimens overlap in ways no table and no photograph can separate, and the deadly one here is deadly in a single meal. Ask a qualified local expert, every time.
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Scleroderma citrinum is also confused with Common Puffball.
Calvatia gigantea is also confused with Common Puffball.
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