Common puffball map of Turkey: where and when it grows

Which months?

Records peak in January, October and December; about 54% of dated records fall in September–November and 2% in March–May.

The common puffball fruits from late summer into winter; Turkish GBIF records cluster in October and December–January. Dry fruit bodies persist for months.

Habitat

The common puffball grows in groups in broadleaf and conifer woods, woodland edges and along paths, among leaf litter or grass.

Look-alikes

Death cap (egg stage) (Amanita phalloides, deadly): A death cap in the egg stage looks like a small white ball. Cut vertically, it shows the outline of a cap, gills and stem inside, whereas a puffball is uniform throughout.

Common earthball (Scleroderma citrinum, poisonous): Thick, yellowish, scaly-cracked skin; the inside is purple-black even when young. It is poisonous.

Giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea, edible): Much larger (10–50 cm) with a smooth, spineless skin; the same white-inside rule applies.

Common stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus, inedible): A stinkhorn egg looks like a white ball, but cut lengthwise it shows a jelly layer and a white stem. A puffball is white and uniform all through.

Barometer earthstar (Astraeus hygrometricus, inedible): The young barometer earthstar is hard and its thick outer skin splits into star-like rays. The common puffball never opens into a star and is white and soft inside when young.