Lycoperdon vernimontanum
Common Name: none
Synonyms: Calvatia lycoperdoides A.H. Smith (nom. illegit.); Handkea lycoperdoides Kreisel
Fruiting body 15-30 (40) mm broad, partially emergent to emergent, subglobose to compressed globose, commonly with a plicate base, attached to substrate with a thick, soil encrusted, rhizomorphic root; exoperidium thin, cream to pale ochre when fresh, furfuraceous-warted to spinulose, often with convergent tips, in dry weather becoming areolate, forming small wart-like polygons; exoperidium persistent, only partially dehiscing, exposing a glabrous, light to medium brown, parchment-like endoperidium; spores dispersed by an irregular shaped apical opening, more commonly by cracks and splits of the fruiting body; gleba yellowish-olive, becoming olive-brown to brown in age; texture crumbly to slightly cottony; subgleba absent or rudimentary, if present of compact tissue; odor and taste not determined.
Spores 4.0-5.5 (6.0) µm, globose, moderately thick-walled, spinulose with a central oil droplet and stub-like pedicel; capillitium Calvatia-like, readily fragmenting when mounted, width of capillitial strands 2.5-6.0 (7) µm; capillitial pits abundant, of various sizes and shapes, some sinuous, or slit-like.
Solitary to scattered, in or near needle litter of montane conifers, principally fir (Abies spp.) and pines (Pinus spp); preferring disturbed areas, e.g. along paths and dirt roads with some needle cover; widely distributed in montane regions of the western U.S.; fruiting spring and fall; common in most years.
Too small to have culinary value.
This small montane puffball, originally described by Alexander Smith as Calvatia lycoperdoides, is a homonym of an earlier published unrelated European puffball, and thus according to nomenclature rules, is illegitmate. In its place the name Lycoperdon vernimontanum, proposed by Jarvis, is used here, the epithet meaning “fruiting in the spring in the mountains.” Unfortunately, Lycoperdon is just one or several small puffballs that fruit in the spring, these often difficult to identify. These include Calvatia lloydii, which resembles Lycoperodn vernimontanum with a warted exoperidium, but is anchored to the substrate by a tuft of mycelium, not a basal root, and has a well-developed, greyish lilac subgleba. Bovista aestivalis, a widely distributed species, is recognized by a subglobose fruiting body that opens with an apical pore, rarely splitting, and microscopically by nearly smooth spores viewed at 1000X/oil immersion and very small, round capillitial pores. Another Bovista, B. plumbea, common in low elevation grasslands, but also occurs at higher elevations, differs with a lead grey colored (thus the species epithet) endoperidium and subglobose spores with long capillitial “tails.” Lycoperdon dermoxantha, is also very similar, but like Bovista aestivalis, the fruiting body opens by a pore, while microscopically, the capillitium has variable sized, mostly round pores, and spores that are slightly warted, not spinulose. Finally, worthy of note, are two of the more commonly encountered, but slightly larger spring fruiting montane species. They are Calvatia fumosa and Lycoperdon subcretaceum. Calvatia fumosa is a golf ball size to slightly larger puffball that has a greyish brown, relatively smooth, thick exoperidium that may become areolate in dry conditions, and often develops an unpleasant odor, noticeable when sectioned. Lycoperodn subcretaceum is similar in size to Calvatia fumosa but is easily distinguished by an exoperidium of short, pointed greyish brown tipped warts.
Bates, S.T. (2004). Arizona members of the Geastraceae and Lycoperdaceae (Basidiomycota, Fungi). Masters Thesis. Arizona State University: Tempe, AZ. 445 p.
Desjardin, D.E., Wood, M.G. & Stevens, F.A. (2015). California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide. Timber Press: Portland, OR. 560 p.
Jarvis, S.S. (2014). The Lycoperdaceae of California. Masters thesis. San Francisco State University: San Francisco, CA. 336 p.
Zeller, S.M. & Smith, A.H. (1964). The genus Calvatia in North America. Lloydia 27: 148-180.
