Pestle Puffball - Lycoperdon excipuliforme
A large puffball with a long thick stalk. Young specimens are covered in short spines and are creamy white; the spines rub off and the puffball darkens as it matures. The head disintegrates when the spores are ready for dispersal; unlike other puffballs, an apical pore is not formed. The stalk and remains of the head and spore mass can persist for a long time.
other Lycoperdon.
Woodland, hedgerows, occasionally grassland and more open habitats
Late summer and autumn.
Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland.
Melinda Bell
Bagworth, Bagworth Heath
10 October 2019
Paul Ruddoch
Melton Country Park
05 April 2016
John Cranfield
nr Fleckney
17 November 2011
Steve Harris
Footpath near M69/Lychgate Lane, Burbage
22 September 2017
Kate Strong
St Mary Magdalene Churchyard, Peckleton
27 October 2023
Paul Ruddoch
Melton Country Park
05 April 2016
David Nicholls
Ratby, plantation woodland
31 March 2020
Steve Harris
Footpath near M69/Lychgate Lane, Burbage
22 September 2017
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Species profile
- Common names
- Pestle Puffball, Pestle-Shaped Puffball
- Species group:
- fungus
- Kingdom:
- Fungi
- Order:
- Agaricales
- Family:
- Lycoperdaceae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 31
- First record:
- 05/11/2004 (Nicholls, David)
- Last record:
- 06/04/2024 (Bell, Melinda)
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