Calvatia utriformis (Bull. ex Pers.) Jaap syn. C. caelata (Bull. ex Pers.) Morgan syn. Lycoperdon caelatum Bull. ex Pers. Hasenbovist Vesse-de-loup ciselée. Fruit body 6–12cm across, squat and pear-shaped when mature tapering towards the base, white to pale grey-brown finally darker brown, outer wall consisting of scurfy warts and soon breaking up into hexagonal patches leaving the fragile inner wall to flake off irregularly at the top. Gleba olivaceous-brown and powdery; sterile base thick, up to one-half of the fruit-body. Spores olive-brown, globose, warted, 4–5µ in diameter. Habitat in pastures or on heaths, usually on sandy soil. Season summer to late autumn but the old cup-shaped sterile bases often persisting from one season to the next. Uncommon – more frequent in the northern Europe. Edible when young. |