Common earthball

Yes. It causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and sweating, and dizziness and fainting have been reported in some cases.

A stalkless, potato-shaped ball with a hard, scaly, yellow-brown skin 2–4 mm thick; when cut it is purple-black with white veins, even when young.

Slice it in half: an edible puffball is pure white and soft all the way through, with a thin skin. The earthball has a thick skin and a dark interior.

Yes, especially uncut. Truffles grow underground and smell strong and pleasant; the earthball usually sits on the surface and smells metallic or rubbery.

We could not find an established Turkish common name in the sources, so this page uses a descriptive name.

Under oak, beech and birch on acidic soil. The few Turkish GBIF records come from Artvin and İstanbul.

Scleroderma is the genus of earthballs: round, thick-skinned fungi that look like puffballs but are firm and dark purple-black inside. Several species are poisonous, so we never mistake them for edible puffballs.

Earth ball (earthball) is the common name of Scleroderma fungi such as the common earthball: a stalkless, potato-like ball with a thick, scaly skin and a dark interior. It is poisonous and is often mistaken for a puffball.

The common earthball is the mushroom most often described as potato-like: a firm, yellow-brown, scaly ball sitting on the ground. Truffles and desert truffles can also look like small potatoes. The earthball is poisonous, so we cut every such ball in half and never eat one that is dark inside.

Yes, common earthball is poisonous and must not be eaten. If the common earthball is eaten, symptoms usually start within half an hour to a few hours: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and sweating, with dizziness and fainting reported in some cases. Cooking does not make it safe. If poisoning is suspected, keep any leftover mushroom.

In our calendar, common earthball season runs Mar, Aug–Nov. The common earthball fruits from late summer to late autumn; the few Turkish GBIF records are from March and November, and old dry fruit bodies can persist for months.

It grows on acidic, sandy or mossy soil under trees such as oak, beech and birch, forming a mycorrhizal partnership with them.

The common earthball has only a few GBIF records in Turkey, from Artvin (Sünbüllü) and İstanbul.

Common earthball can be confused with common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum, edible species), truffle (Tuber spp., edible species), death cap (Amanita phalloides, deadly), desert truffle (Terfezia spp., edible species) and barometer earthstar (Astraeus hygrometricus, inedible). Look-alikes are compared on this page.

In Turkish, common earthball (Scleroderma citrinum) is called Sarı sert top mantarı.