Plant Guide > Mushrooms > Genus Bovista

Genus Bovista

GENUS BOVISTA

In the genus Bovista the rind or peridium opens by an apical mouth, as do the species of Lycoperdon, but the species of Bovista have no sterile base. They are puffballs of small size, growing in fields and woods. The outer coat is thin and fragile, and scales off at maturity. The inner coat is thin, becoming papery, and then opens by an apical mouth.

Bovista plumbea is esteemed a delicacy. It is shaped like a flattened globe, with a smooth, white inner coat, and a lead-coloured outer coat opening by an apical mouth.