Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Agaricaceae
Genus: Lycoperdon

Lycoperdon perlatum is roughly the shape of an inverted pear. The stem is fairly large and the top is rounded. 2.5-7 cm wide and 3-7.5 cm high. Small whitish warts cover the fruiting body when young, fall off with age and leave scars. A large perforation is found in the center of the puffball that facilitates spore dispersal via rain or wind. White and fleshy when young but changing eventually to an olive color with brown spore dust. Spores 3.5-4.5 um round, minutely spiny. Capillitial threads olive in KOH (3-7um wide).

Interestingly the genus name Lycoperdon translates as “Wolf fart.”

See Tom Volk’s page on puffballs