Lycoperdon nigrescens

Lycoperdon nigrescens, with the synonym Lycoperdon foetidum, commonly known as the dusky puffball,^[1] is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. It was first described scientifically in 1794 by the Swedish naturalist Göran Wahlenberg.^[2]

Lycoperdon nigrescens
A similar species. L. nigrescens is darker between the spines.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Lycoperdaceae
Genus:	Lycoperdon
Species:	L. nigrescens
Binomial name
Lycoperdon nigrescens Wahlenb. (1794)
Synonyms
Lycoperdon foetidum Bonord.

Lycoperdon nigrescens Mycological characteristics
	Glebal hymenium
	No distinct cap
	Hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
	Lacks a stipe
	Spore print is olive
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is unknown

The fruit body grows up to 6 centimetres (2+1⁄4 in) tall and 4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) wide.^[3] The caps are shaped somewhat like pears, with spines ranging in brightness, which later break off.^[4] The surface is dark between the spines. The stipe has thin strands coming from its base.^[4] Visually similar to other species when young, it grows increasingly darker with age and lacks the pronounced stipe that old Lycoperdon perlatum specimens attain.^[5]

It appears from summer to fall in both conifer and hardwood forests, in addition to alpine areas.^[4] Its edibility is unknown, but related puffballs are edible in youth, when still firm and white inside.^[3]