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Lycoperdon spec. Pers. · Agaricaceae
Also: Puffballs
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Puffballs of the genus Lycoperdon form pear-shaped, bottle-shaped or round fruiting bodies without a cap or gills. The inside is white and firm when young, and later turns olive-brown and puffs out dust when opened. Only young specimens that are pure white inside are edible. This profile covers the group; individual species such as the common puffball can be identified.
Group profile: young puffballs are considered edible as long as the inside of the fruiting bodies is pure white and firm. When young, they can be confused with deadly poisonous amanitas in the egg stage. So cut every find in half lengthways.
Young deadly amanitas in the egg stage can hardly be told apart from puffballs from the outside. In a lengthways cut you can already see the outline of the cap, gills and stem. A young puffball is evenly white inside, without these structures. Deadly poisonous.
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In the egg stage it is also enclosed in a sac. In a lengthways cut the cap and gill primordia are visible, which is not the case in puffballs. The sac, the volva, later remains as a volva on the stem. Deadly poisonous.
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The skin is thick, tough and yellow-brown, and the inside is dark even when young, blackish to violet-black and marbled. A puffball stays pure white inside when young. Poisonous.
View on the map| Young puffballs | European destroying angel | Death cap | Common earthball | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cap | roundish to pear-shaped, no cap, granules or spines | cap primordium visible in the cut, white | cap primordium in the cut, often olive-greenish | yellow-brown, tough, cracked into scales |
| Underside | no gills, pure white and uniform inside when young | gill primordium visible in the cut | gill primordium visible in the cut | inside marbled black-violet when young |
| Stem | stem-like spongy lower part, no ring or volva | stem primordium with bulb and volva | stem primordium with bulb in a volva | hardly any stem, with mycelial cords in the soil |
| Flesh | firm and spongy when young, dusty later | firm, but with recognisable structure | firm, structured | tough, hard |
| Edibility | Edible | deadly poisonous | deadly poisonous | poisonous |
Woods, woodland edges, meadows and path verges, depending on the species. No reliable information.
Mostly saprotrophs with no fixed tree partners, on woodland soil, meadows or dead wood, depending on the species.
possible good main season
Rough estimate; the fruiting period varies with the species and the weather.
There are no records per region for this species yet. The country pages lead to all regions with a daily forecast.
How good are the chances of finding this species where you are right now? We calculate it from weather, soil moisture, altitude and forest at your location.
Poison centre:
Emergency: 112 · 999
Poison centre:
Emergency: 112
Mushroom advice: DGfM: find a mushroom expert. Certified mushroom experts of the German Mycological Society (DGfM).
Collecting rules: Mushrooms that are not specially protected may be collected in small quantities for personal use unless a protected area or ban applies. Certain specially protected edible species (e.g. cep, chanterelle, birch bolete) may be collected in small quantities for personal use.
Poison centre:
Emergency: 112 · 144
Mushroom advice: Austrian Mycological Society (ÖMG): mushroom advice. Mushroom advice by the Austrian Mycological Society or regional services such as municipal market offices.
Collecting rules: At most 2 kg of mushrooms per person per day unless the forest owner has prohibited collecting; organised collecting events are prohibited. Additional state rules apply (collecting hours, closed seasons), e.g. Carinthia, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Salzburg.
Not specially protected.
Use only young specimens that are pure white inside, peel off the outer skin and cut the flesh into slices. Fry briefly in butter or oil; they turn tough easily when cooked. Cook for at least 15 minutes.
No reliable information on drying. Cut every find in half lengthways. Eat it only if the inside is pure white and uniform all the way through. If the inside has turned yellow or dark, do not use it any more. Confusion with deadly amanitas in the egg stage is life-threatening.
Young puffballs are edible as long as the inside is pure white and firm. As they ripen, the inside changes colour and the mushroom can no longer be used.
By the lengthways cut: a puffball is uniformly white inside, whereas a deadly amanita in the egg stage already shows the outline of the cap, gills and stem. If in doubt, do not eat it.
The flesh is spongy and loses its tenderness with long heating. Frying briefly in butter is the usual preparation, but the cooking time must not be under 15 minutes.
Earthballs have a thick, tough skin and, even when young, a dark, black-violet marbled inside. They are poisonous.
No substitute for having your finds checked in person. No guarantee of accuracy. Updated: 17.10.2026.
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