Common Earthball vs Common Puffball
Scleroderma citrinum and Lycoperdon perlatum 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.
A genuinely tricky call: edible while pure white inside, but worthless once the flesh yellows — and young puffballs must always be sliced to rule out a baby Amanita.
Side by side
| Scleroderma citrinum | Lycoperdon perlatum | |
|---|---|---|
| In this game | Poisonous | Inedible / unclear |
| Habitat | Acid soil and mossy banks in woodland, often on paths and old stumps. | Woodland floor and clearings, in groups on soil and leaf litter. |
| Season | Summer to late autumn. | Summer to late 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 Lycoperdon perlatum. 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 Giant Puffball.
Lycoperdon perlatum is also confused with Giant Puffball.
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