synonyms: Common Earthball, Kartoffelbovist, Scléroderme orangé, Scléroderme vulgaire

location: North America, Europe

edibility: Inedible

fungus colour: Yellow

normal size: 5-15cm

cap type: Other

stem type: Lateral, rudimentary or absent

spore colour: Purplish to black

habitat: Grows in woods, Grows on the ground

Scleroderma citrinum Pers. syn. S. aurantium (Vaill.) Pers. syn. S. vulgare Horn. Kartoffelbovist Scléroderme vulgaire, Scléroderme orangé Common Earthball. Fruit body 2–10cm across, subglobose, attached to the substrate by cord-like mycelial threads, wall dirty yellow to ochre-brown, thick and tough, coarsely scaly, breaking open irregularly to liberate the spores. Gleba purplish-black at first patterned by whitish veins, powdery when mature. Spores brown, globose, with a net-like ornamentation, 9–13m in diameter. Habitat on mossy or peaty ground on heaths or in rich woodland, especially on sandy soil. Season late summer to early winter. Common. Not edible. Distribution, America and Europe.