Common as muck! The Common Earthball
It was only a couple of weeks ago whilst looking for the first signs of all the different Russulas that my attention was drawn away every two minutes only to find these little blighters. They were everywhere…
With a well deserved name, the Common Earthball (Scleroderma citrinum) is very numerous during the summer and autumn months, in and around damp woodland in rich peaty soil or moss. It is often in small scattered groups of 2 to 4 or so together, sitting there like discarded old potatoes! It is a mycorrhizal species and shares this special relationship with deciduous trees, especially oak, beech and birch.
‘Potato like’ is a good analogy I think. They can grow up to 10cm in diametre and have an irregular ovoid like shape. The colour can be dirty yellow to ochre brown with rough scales all over the surface.
The difference ends once you cut the fungus in half. In an immature specimen you will find a solid blackish spore mass (the gleba) with a subtle marbled effect. The smell is quite a strong metallic odour which I find very unpleasant. At maturity this spore mass will turn into fine power and the outer surface will rot and split wide open in a random spot, unlike the puffball trait of opening at the apex, to release it’s spores.
There are several lookalike Earthballs out there, such as the Scaly Earthball and Leopard Earthball. These have some key differences, such as the surface texture or pattern. But there is quicker way to identify between these similar fungi. Unlike these examples, the Common Earthball has no stem at all, merely mycelial white cottony cords attached to the soil and it’s outer skin is very thick in comparison (from 2 – 5mm). Simply squeeze a Scaly Earthball and you’ll easily misshape the whole thing, the Common Earthball on the other hand won’t budge. Nice and sturdy.
Anyway, it goes without saying that this Earthball along with the rest are quite inedible, and the Common Earthball has been classed as poisonous in the past (which I agree with), but one comment from Jo (below) mentioned they are eaten regularly in the Philippines where she is from. However Gareth and Deborah from UK (another comment below) had a bad experience with sickness. I don’t like the smell (or the looks of them) at all, so I’ll just be avoiding it in future – like a bad potato.
QUICK ID TABLE: COMMON EARTHBALL Scleroderma citrinum |
FRUITING BODY 2-10cm in diametre. Almost Spherical / Irregular potato shape. Dirty yellow to ochre brown with coarse scales. Outer wall thick. STEM No stem. Attached to soil by fine mycelial threads. GLEBA Purple/Black with white veins / markings. Turns to powder when mature. HABITAT / SEASON Rich soil in and around deciduous woodland. Summer & autumn. Widespread & very common. EDIBILITY Inedible. |
The PUFFBALLS/EARTHBALLS & ALLIES (Stomach fungi): Characteristics to look out for: • Main fruting body is ball shaped, irregular or pedicel shaped. Broken or split at maturity to release spores |
Update: 3rd October 2012. Two Fungi as One!
If you’re lucky, you may get see the Parasitic Bolete (Pseudoboletus parasiticus) that exclusively grows on older bodies of Common Earthballs and therefore easy to identify. The matt textured, olive/brown/yellow cap grows up to 4cm across. Sometimes there are several feeding off the one earthball.
They’re pretty widespread and occasional, and in-fact edible (some say not) but definitely not poisonous. The picture below was kindly sent to me from blog follower Chris Thornley. It was found in woodland near Sandringham. After rain, the cap seems to have a tacky texture. Thanks for the pic Chris.
© Chris Thornley 2012 – Parasitic Bolete (Pseudoboletus parasiticus)
Is it harmful to a young (7 year old ) tree ? What action could or should be taken , if any ? Most anxious to learn . GMD
Hi Gaynor.
The Common Earthball is not harmful to trees or life around it, in fact it’s ecology is mycorrhizal, meaning it lives in symbiosis with the trees (roots) around it. They both swap nutrients to benefit each others well being.
My daughter recently went foraging for mushrooms and brought back what I thought was a puffball. I cut this and fried it with garlic. As I cut into it I noticed that it was a little harder than puffballs normally are but it was quite white inside, so I still believed it to be a puffball. As I began to eat this with pasta I bit into it and found an unpleasant sour peppery taste. As my daughter complains, the taste of normal puffballs is quite bland and they normally just take on the flavour of butter or garlic or whatever you cook them with. I am now quite convinced that this sneaky customer was an immature earthball Scleroderma. Normally the inside of an earthball is at least yellow if not green or blacky-brown but this one was quite white. I am a little upset as I didn’t think that there was anything that you could really confuse with the puffball. It appears you live and learn. (Actually I only just did this – so I hope you live and learn.)
My horse came in from the field with a 2 to 3 inch diameter area on his thigh with the hair and skin off. Couldn’t find how he had done it but my question is? There are Puffballs or Earthballs in the field, some of these are open and wet like a paste in them. Is there anyway if my horse had rolled in one of these that they would burn his skin?
The Earthballs spore mass is mildly toxic but only when consumed. I have handled the inner gleba, and as far as I know it doesn’t cause irritation of the skin. Likewise, I’m unsure if it would affect open wounds or damaged skin. Would your local vet know?
Hi -Just after coming across this wonderful, informative and well laid out site on mushrooms
Over the past few years my boundary conifers have being dying one by one (from the ground up). I have just found what appears to be Earthball type mushrooms underfoot & beneath the grass about 6 ft from the trees. Are there any such mushrooms that can affect roots of such trees?. Any advice would much be appreciated. Ray
Hi Ray
Glad you’re enjoying the blog. The Earthballs have a beneficial mycorrhizal association (symbiotic relationship) with hardwoods and conifers, exchanging sugars and nutrients. So they won’t be responsible with harming the neighbouring trees. I hope you do find out what is though.
All the best
John
It’s quite rainy here in the Philippines so mushroom similar with the COMMON EARTHBALL (Scleroderma citrinum) grow in the forest. My father usually get this kind of mushroom during rainy season and we actually eat it — kinds with white and dark purple color inside. This was food since the old days with the old people and there was no report of discomfort and food poisoning. We call it here as “buo” which means whole. I eat it ever since I was young and nothing happened to me. So, I think it’s edible. We live near the forest and the season here are rainy and summer. It’s usually 15-23 degrees Celcius.
Hi Jo.
It may well be a different species that looks similar. We may not have it here in the UK.
The Common Earthball here has a very unpleasant smell and I know of nobody who eats them. However, I agree with you that they are not poisonous. I think it has been labelled as poisonous in the past (in the UK at least) but now it is just generally classed as inedible. So I will update this post and just say ‘inedible’. Thanks Jo
All the best
John
Hello there!
I was trying to find the English name for this mushroom, found it, and was quite surprised to learn that it’s inedible in some countries. I’m also from the Philippines, particularly Baguio City, and yes we do eat this kind of mushroom.
But then again it might be a different kind of species as you suggest.
Hi Luis, yes – it may be a different species. Or if it isn’t then I’d be interested to hear what it tastes like and how you cook it.
Thanks
John
Hello! I’m also from Baguio City, Philippines, and people from here have been eating “bu-o” for many decades now. They look very similar to the earthballs shown but what the ones we have are all edible. They smell great, too! They literally look the same so I’m quite confused as to what variant or specie our bu-o are.
Some people (myself included) call them Benguet truffles but upon looking, we realized that they are not truffles at all. So thank you for this article! :)
Also, we fry them, cook them adobo style, or add them to pasta. :)
Hi Dawn. Many thanks for that information (and cooking ideas). I’m interested as to what species they are (scientific) although I’m not having much luck with research!
They definitely must be a different species anyway, because our UK Earthballs smell totally unappetising!
Just saw this article because I was curious of the common name of the mushroom that we call here “Bu-o”. I live in the northern mountainous region of PH. Just want to share the taste and smell for comparison. What we have here smells earthy and sometimes i can compare its to a chicken liver but its more earthy and more like a vegetable. When its dried it has a strong earthy milk like smell.
I was born in countryside in Thailand. I think I knew the similar one you have mentioned to COMMON EARTHBALL. There are different species, as the one in Asian is buried under the ground. This is grown above ground and has different texture. I’ve picked some today and look them up and come across your comment.
Hi Phong
I think this is what people in other comments here are thinking of.
What you have described may possibly be Thai truffles (Astraeus hygrometricus), although I’m not sure, but that’s my best guess.
Thanks for the extra details.
John
Yes we also have it here now that its rainy season. People had been eating this a long time ago until now, and we are having it almost everyday coz we know where to find them?. Its one of the safest shrooms here. Eaten raw with onions and vinegar or we stir fry it with some soy sauce and vinegar, medium rare or well done…. no acidity or stomach pains. They grow on soil surfaces from tiny brown ball to a big one. The mature ball has the colour black inside and when its very old will be purplish and a rubbery texture then it will rot. It wont powderize and it wont pop like the puffball…
1500MASL 10 to 26 °C temp. Near Baguio city.
….right now we are having a discussion about its name.
hehe cordilleran spotted,. inya ngata scientific or english name na apo ti boo. baka han pay napanaganan. hehe
Cordilleran spotted. hehe. yes we eat “boo” too, but i think we have different kind of earthball in our place. maybe its not yet named. hehe
I wonder if maybe you’re thinking of truffles?
That is right. I always eat this since I was young and I have been craving for it. Do you know where to get here in benguet?
Hello,
Well, we have them in our veg patch and, before seeing this wonderful site, thought they were puffballs.
I picked one the size of a golf ball, sliced and fried it, so that we had half each. With a full meal, it was okay but not exceptionally tasty.
About two hours later, with a blocked nose and a bloated stomach, we were both getting out of bed.
Being upright, we were dizzy and sweaty, so made it to the toilet, soon to be sick and to bring it all up.
We feel fine now but are staying up for an hour to check on each other.
We have spoken to the NHS, on phone number 111, to a nurse and are now waiting for a doctor to give us the all clear. We’ll be fine now.
Thanks to this site we were easily able to identify these as earthballs and to make a decision on what to do next.
Thank you!!
Oh, and don’t eat Common Earthball mushrooms in the UK!!
Hi Gareth/Deborah
Sorry to hear you had this bad experience, but fortunately you’re OK now and have confirmed that it is a bad idea to eat the Common Earthball. I have amended the last paragraph on this article again – generally to warn people to avoid these little guys.
Thanks for your information.
All the best
John
Found your blog and it’s really useful, thanks. We live next to a woodland and our disused chicken run is full of these. How do I get rid of them so that I can reintroduce chickens?
Hi Macaila
Unfortunately, you’ll just have to remove them when they pop up. The mycelium (the vegetative part of a fungus which is a large mass of white thread called hyphae) will grow wide and quite deep, forming a beneficial relationship with the surrounding plants or vegetation, so total removal or stopping them completely is extremely difficult – sorry!
Hi macaila, I have chickens and these wee earthball monsters have just started popping up everywhere!
Do you know if they will harm the chickens?
Did you manage to get rid of yours?
Thanks,
Vicky
There in my tarmac drive way , pushing the tarmac up like little mountains. Can’t believe how powerful they are. tried to kill with bleach and petrol, still survived. Respect.
I know what you mean. I saw several the other day pushing up someones drive, although they were at the edge. But I guess they weren’t too welcome still.
I have these Common Earthball fungi coming up in my veggie patch. Is it safe to eat the carrots, parsnips etc that are grown there?
Hi Nicky
Yes, it is fine. It won’t affect your veggies.
All the best
John
Thanks for your reply John. I will enjoy the veg now. All the best to you
In general I think a similar edible type of this as mentioned earlier grows in the cold northern mountainous region (CAR) here in PH …just saw this article because I was curious of the common name of the mushroom that we call here “Bu-o”. Just want to share the taste and smell for comparison. What we have here smells earthy and I cant really compare the taste but in general a delicious earthy soil I guess. The less mature ones are the best since it not too earthy and has a crispy texture. Matured ones has a chicken liver texture and crispy outer layer. When its dried it has a strong earthy milk like smell. If its dried it will taste bitter if you don’t soak it on hot water for atleast 10 minutes. Properly prepared, I personally like the dried ones especially for soups and sauted veggies since it has a rich umami taste.
Thanks Jacoan. I keep hearing more and more about this “Bu-o” and it sounds great. Also thanks for the recipe ideas. It’s a shame we don’t grow them here. Because the Common Earthballs we have, really smell awful.
Hi Jacoan, thanks for sharing the details about Bu-o. Recently I found some mushrooms which might be same as Bu-o since I found it in tropical forest, Indonesia. It has a dense black flesh. Has a strong earthy smell. I uploaded some pic if you would like to check it out
https://pasteboard.co/JCubUdl.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/JCuaMDi.jpg
If these mushrooms are the same as you refer as Bu-o, I’d love to try eating them.
Thanks
https://pinoyfoodillustrated.blogspot.com/2022/12/bu-o.html?m=1
The one on the link above is what we eat here in the Philippines. We call it bu-o.
Ah yes. Although a different species. The Earthball here grows above ground and has a small root at the base. It is not considered good for eating and best avoided.