Fungus
Snow Puffball
Bovista nigrescensAlso known as Brown Puffball, Black Bovist, Blackish Puffball
Snow puffballs emerge in short grass as smooth white spheres before maturing into dark, papery globes. As the outer skin flakes away, a shiny blackish-brown inner wall is revealed with a single pore at the top for releasing spores. When rain or passing animals bump the mature fruiting body, dense clouds of olive-brown spores puff out into the wind.
FungusGrasslandDecomposer
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preySaprotrophic
Predators
- Slugs
- Fungus Gnats
- Small Rodents
ThreatsAgricultural intensification and heavy fertilizer application
HabitatsPastures, short grasslands, lawns, and heathlands
Life spanFruiting bodies persist for 2–6 months
Classification
- FamilyLycoperdaceae
- SpeciesBovista nigrescens
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Many wild fungi have dangerous toxic look-alikes; never eat wild mushrooms based on app identification alone.
Responsible observation
- Spotting: Search in unimproved pastures and lawns during late summer and autumn.
- Observation: Look for older brown specimens that puff spores when touched by raindrops or gentle pressure.
Toxic Look-alike (c) Malte Krömer, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Malte Krömer · cc-by
Close Relative (c) John Steel, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by John Steel · cc-by
Family Relative (c) Michael Nerrie, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Michael Nerrie · cc-by
Family Relative no rights reserved, uploaded by Yehor Yatsiuk · cc0
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