Bovista pulyuggeodes

The identification of a species of Bovista relies on a mix of macroscopic and microscopic features and the three photos show some of the things you'd be asked about. In some species the mature puffballs are very loosely attached to the soil but in others they are well-anchored by (usually) whitish, rootlike strands (see the arrow in Photo 1). Initially the wall of the spore sac is two-layered. The inner layer (or endoperidium) is persistent but the outer layer (exoperidium) is not. What does the exoperidium look like? In this case (Photo 2) it is composed of whitish spines, with their bases separate from each other but with groups of 4 or so often joined at their apices. Over time the exoperidium erodes, so to see it at its best you need a young fruitbody but you may find remnants on the lower (hence more protected) sides of an older fruitbody. Inside the puffball the spores are held within an intricate cotton-wool-like mass (the capillitium). What does the capillitium look like? The main image in Photo 3 shows part of the capillitium for this sighting. Here it is composed of sparsely branched filaments (or hyphae) of largely uniform diameter. In this case the capillitium has pores and the lower inset shows a few. The arrow on the left points to a pore seen in side view (through the thick hyphal wall) and the white hole pointed to by the arrow on the right shows a pore face on. In this species the spores have long tails (see the central inset) and this can be seen even at lower magnification (see the red arrow). Is the exoperidium composed of just hyphae or are swollen cells present? The rightmost inset shows some of the swollen, thick-walled, colourless cells that are abundant in the whitish spines of the exoperidium.