fruiting body is up to 6cm wide, pear-shaped, white to dull white, with small conical spines that break off but leave a network of spots behind.
flesh must be firm and all-white.
flesh must be undifferentiated with no trace of gills, no thick rind and no outline of mushroom visible in cross section.
grows singly, in groups or clumped together on forest beds under conifers and hardwoods.
appears in the summer and fall.
has a mild taste with no odor; cook before eating.
a non-poisonous look-alike is Lycoperdon foetidum, which is similar in appearance but are brown/greyish-beige rather than white and has an unpleasant odor.
a look-alike with unknown edibility is Lycoperdon umbrinum, which is similar in appearance but are brown/tan rather than white.
warning: do not confuse with young specimens of the deadly Destroying Angel or other poisonous white mushrooms, which have no spines and have faint differentiation inside rather than being solid white.
