Vascellum pratense (Pers.: Pers.) Kreisel
Feddes Rep. 64: 159. 1962.

Common Name: none

• Sporocarp

  Fruiting body 3.0-6.0 cm tall, 2.0-5.0 cm broad; shape variable: turbinate, obovoid, cylindrical with a slightly enlarged apex, sometimes laterally compressed and appearing fan-shaped, typically tapered towards the base, the latter often with characteristic wrinkles and folds; apex rounded to truncate; exoperidium consisting of a dense covering of evanescent, whitish to cream-colored, short spines and granules, less conspicuously ornamented towards the base; endoperidium thin, smooth to slightly roughened, white becoming cream to ochraceous-brown, grey-brown to medium-brown in senescent specimens; spores dispersed via a gradually enlarging apical tear; sterile base prominent, a subgleba occupying up to half of the fruiting body, composed of relatively large, whitish cells becoming yellowish to yellowish-olive, finally brown to purple-brown; subgleba separated from the spore case by a thin membrane, i.e. a diaphragm; gleba white, soft, becoming yellowish-olive, in age olive-brown, powdery; odor and taste mild when young; capillitium sparse, located mostly near the endoperidium; paracapillitium common.

• Spores

  Spores 3-3.5 µm, round, with a minute pedicel, finely warted in KOH, appearing spinulose in cotton blue, moderately thick-walled, with a single oil droplet.

• Habitat

  Solitary, gregarious to clustered in grassy areas; fruiting during the summer months in watered areas and after the fall rains.

• Edibility

  Edible when white and immature, but of little value.

• Comments

  Vascellum pratense is one of several modest-sized puffballs found in lawns and playing fields. Its distinguishing characteristics include a prominent sterile base and spore case separated by a thin membrane (best seen by longitudinally sectioning the fruiting body), an exoperidium of pallid, evanescent spines and granules, and a thin endoperidium that changes from whitish to ochraceous, to brown. In old, dried specimens, the spore case may disintegrate leaving only a sterile cup-like base. Two other puffballs encountered in grass include Bovista plumbea and Bovista dermoxantha. These can be told at a glance by a more or less round shape, relatively smooth surface, and lack of a sterile base. Vascellum lloydianum is a closely related species which differs in having an indistinct diaphram and more abundant capillitium. It is also commonly collected.

• References

  Bates, S.T. (2004). Arizona members of the Geastraceae and Lycoperdaceae (Basidiomycota, Fungi). Masters Thesis. Arizona State University: Tempe, AZ. 445 p.
  Bougher, N.L. & Syme, K. (1998). Fungi of Southern Australia. University of Western Australia Press: Nedlands, Australia. 391 p.
  Calonge, F.D. (1998). Flora Mycologica Iberica. Vol. 3. Gasteromycetes, I. Lycoperdales, Nidulariales, Phallales, Sclerodermatales, Tulostomatales. J. Cramer: Berlin, Germany. 271 p.
  Kreisel, H. (1973). Die Lycoperdaceae der DDR. J. Cramer: Lehre. 201 p.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Fred Stevens: Vascellum pratense (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Vascellum pratense (CP)
  • Fred Stevens: Vascellum pratense (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Vascellum pratense (CP)
  • Na Grzyby: Vascellum pratense (D & CP)
  • Northern Ireland Fungus Group: Vascellum pratense (D & CP)
  • Mushroom Observer: Vascellum pratense (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 695 (D & P)
  • Breitenbach & Kränzlin (vol. 2): sp. 521 (D, I, & CP)
  • Jordan: p. 358 (D & CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 827 (D), pl. 645 (CP)
  • Pegler et al. (1995): p. 118 (D), p. 119 (I & CP)
  • Phillips: p. 283 (D & CP)
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)