Lycoperdon echinatum Pers.
Family: Agaricaceae
Spiny Puffball
Lycoperdon echinatum image
National Mushroom Centre  
Mata, M., D. Penjor and S. Pradham. 2010. Fungi of Bhutan. National Mushroom Centre, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Thimphu, Bhutan.

Local name: No local name known

Edibility: Inedible

Habitat: Terrestrial and gregarious but sometimes solitary as well.

Description: Fruiting bodies: 3-5cm across, 4 -8cm tall, globe-shaped fruit body on a short stem, white when young, becomes yellowish brown when matures. The soft spines are in sets of three or four that converge at the tips and looks like a pyramid. Flesh: White when young and greyish brown when matures. Spore Print:  Purple-brown.

Comments: Lycoperdon pulcherrimumclosely resembles L. echinatum, but its spines are stouter and it does not turn brown with age, and the surface of the fruit body underneath the spines is smooth, not pitted. Young specimens of L. pedicellatum may also be difficult to distinguish from L. echinatum, but the former have a smooth outer surface when mature, and have spores attached to a pedicel. Lycoperdon compactum also resembles L. echinatum in appearance, but differs in having smaller spores.