bovista or paltry puffball & lycoperdon 12 x 18 Poster

12inch x 18inch Poster Bovista plumbea, also referred to as the paltry puffball[1], is a small puffball mushroom commonly found in Western Europe and California[2], white when young and greyish in age. Easily confused with immature Bovista dermoxantha, it is attached to the substrate by a tuft of mycelium. Lycoperdon perlatum, commonly known as the common puffball, warted puffball, gem-studded puffball or devil's snuff-box, is a species of puffball mushroom in the Agaricaceae family. A common species with a cosmopolitan distribution, it is a moderate-sized puffball with a round fruit body tapering to a wide stalk, and dimensions of 1.5 to 6 cm (0.6 to 2.4 in) wide by 3 to 7 cm (1.2 to 2.8 in) tall. It is off-white with a top covered in short spiny bumps or 'jewels', which are easily rubbed off. When mature they become brown and a hole in the top opens to release spores in a burst when the body is compressed by raindrops, a touch, falling nuts, etc. It grows in fields, gardens, and along roadsides, as well as in grassy clearings in woods. The puffball is edible when young and the internal flesh is completely white. Laboratory tests indicate that extracts of the puffball have antimicrobial and antifungal activities. - There is a border around the image. Image size is correct.