Native to northern temperate zones, this puffball has been found in Europe, continental Asia, Japan, eastern Atlantic, North America, Mexico, South Africa, Chile, and New Zealand. It usually grows alone or in small groups on dead and decaying plant material in pastures and coastal regions. Mosaic puffballs are a member of the group known as stomach fungi, gasteromycetes, that includes fungi that produce their spores inside their fruiting bodies instead of on an outer surface. The fruiting body appears from late summer into fall and has no stem, cap, or gills. It is pear-shaped, 8″ tall, 2.5-10″ across, and when young is dirty white with mosaic-like scales covering the surface. As it ages, the fruiting body becomes gray and loses the mosaic patterning. The top surface of the fruiting body tears irregularly creating a bowl-like structure on a stump, and the smooth, spherical spores are disseminated by the wind or rain. The flesh of the puffball is soft and white at first but becomes powdery and yellow to gray-brown with maturity.
Only young mosaic puffballs with white and soft are edible. Yellowing or brown flesh may cause severe gastric distress and should be discarded. The flesh is eaten cooked after the tough outer skin is removed. Since the flavor is mild and the texture soft, it is best used in omelettes, soups or dishes with firmer mushrooms.
Photo Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handkea_utriformis
Karen