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Purple-spored Puffball
Scientific Name: Calvatia cyathiformis
Family Name: Lycoperdaceae
Edibility: Choice when white within
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Description: Hemispherical, minutely cracked, tannish, with white interior becoming deep purple-brown, with large, persistent, dark violet, cuplike remains. Mushroom: 2-3/4 - 7" wide, 3-1/2 - 8" high; hemispherical, smooth at first, becoming cracked into distinct areas; tannish. Spore mass white, becoming dark lilac to brownish-yellow to deep purple-brown. Spores: 3.5 - 7.5 microns; round, with distinct spines. Edibility: Choice. Season: July-November; overwintering as dark violet cup. Habitat: On the ground in grassy areas, parks, golf courses, and pastures. Range: East and Central United States. Comments: This is a good edible when white within. The large, violet, cuplike base, which is left after the puffball disintegrates, often overwinters. [Lincoff, Gary H., The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1981]
Fruiting Body: 7-16 cm wide, 9-20 cm high; round, oval, or skull-shaped. Outer surface smooth, white to pale brown, breaking into thin, irregular plates that flake off with age. Flesh solid and white at first, aging to yellowish and finally purple-brown and powdery. Stalk: Thick, short, anchored by thick strands; interior spongy. Spore Color: Purple-brown. Fruiting: Solitary or scattered in grassy areas and at woodland edges; late summer, fall. Range: Widely distributed in North America. Comments: Edible if interior is white; reported to cause gastric distress once the interior begins to change color. [Bessette, Alan and Sundberg, Walter J., Macmillan Field Guides; Mushrooms; A quick reference guide to mushrooms of North America, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1987]