Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Small
Diet: Decomposer
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: Worldwide
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

The common puffball grows as a round white fruiting body covered in tiny pyramidal spines that rub off cleanly, leaving a delicate net-like texture. When mature, a single specimen can release over a trillion spores through a small pore at its crown — a gentle squeeze sends them billowing into the air.

Life cycle

1.
spore
A microscopic spore drifts on air or water and germinates where moisture and substrate meet.
2.
mycelium
A thread-like mycelium spreads through the substrate, breaking it down into nutrients.
3.
fruiting body
A mature fruiting body emerges to release the next generation of spores.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Lycoperdaceae
Genus: Lycoperdon
Species: Lycoperdon perlatum