#earthballs

A beautiful common earthball just on the brink of maturity, splitting to open to release the dark spores inside.

Mature earthballs, at various stages of having split open to release their spores. 

These specimens are smoothly scaled enough that they might be mistaken for scaly earthballs (Scleroderma verrucosum), except for their distinguishing lack of a pseudostipe, which is prominent on scaly earthballs. 

Disguised against the leaf litter, it took me a while to spot these common earthballs and then, suddenly, once I had, there were dozens of them all over the sparse woodland floor. 

These lovely looking but poisonous little fungi seem to be the cause of most mushroom poisonings in the UK each year as they may be mistaken for puffballs or truffles, though they are easily told apart by their yellow colouring and warty surface, as well as the deep purple-brown tones that are present inside as their spores mature. Luckily, they are not severely poisonous, but still very much to be avoided.