Naked Puffball

The fruiting bodies of the Naked Puffball are round when young, later becoming somewhat flattened and wider than high, with a narrow base that is attached to the substrate. Mature fruiting bodies are 1 - 3 cm (0.4 - 1.2") high X 1 - 5 (0.4 - 2") wide. The outer wall of the fruiting bodies is composed of two distinct layers. The outer layer is white and composed of large, sharp-pointed spines that turn brown as they age. The interior tissue of the young fruiting body is white, but becomes olive-brown as the spores form. As the fruiting body matures the outer layer of spines breaks up into small sheets or patches that fall off as a unit. Typically the spines fall off only on the upper half of the fruiting body, remaining on the lower half. Removal of the spines exposes the thin, smooth, pale to dark brown inner wall layer. A round pore forms in the top of this inner wall. By this time the interior tissue has become converted into a mass of olive-brown to grayish-brown spores. Any sudden pressure on the thin wall, such as the impact of falling raindrops, will cause the ãpuffingä action, in which a group of spores is suddenly ejected through the pore into the air, where air currents can disperse the spores.