Fungus · GBIF taxon 3339928
Western Giant Puffball
Calvatia boonianaAlso known as Boone's Giant Puffball, Sculpted Giant Puffball, Western Puffball
Western giant puffballs emerge as massive, leather-textured spheres covered in raised, polygonal scales that give them a distinctive sculpted appearance. As they mature, their thick outer skin cracks open to expose a soft brown spore mass that releases billions of microscopic spores into western winds. They thrive in dry pastures, sagebrush steppes, and open arid woodlands across western North America.
FungusGrasslandSaprotrophic
1 / 7—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Decaying organic matter
- Plant debris
- Soil nutrients
Predators
- Insects
- Rodents
- Slugs
ThreatsHabitat loss, heavy land development, soil compaction
HabitatsArid grasslands, sagebrush steppe, pastures, open woodlands
Life spanFruiting bodies persist several weeks; mycelium lives perennially
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- FamilyLycoperdaceae
- SpeciesCalvatia booniana
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Many wild mushrooms have dangerous look-alikes; never consume wild fungi based on app identification alone.
Responsible observation
- Identification: Check for large polygonal plates covering the upper surface of young specimens.
- Observation: Look in open western grasslands and sagebrush flats after late summer or autumn rains.
Image unavailableLook-alike 
Close Relative no rights reserved, uploaded by Yehor Yatsiuk · cc0
Close Relative (c) Sindhu Ramchandran, the mushroom was identified by Mr Marco Della Maggiora, Italy, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
Help improve the field guideSomething wrong?
Checking your Fauna account…Report a name, category, or profile issue for review.