- 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.
- 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.
- grows singly, in groups or clumped together on forest beds under conifers and hardwoods.
- 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.
|
