Common Earthball - Scleroderma citrinum

A large earthball, with thick irregular scales and a yellowish tinge.  It does not have a stem, or pseudostipe, unlike the Scaly and Leopard Earthballs.   The outer skin or peridium is also thicker, at  2-5mm.    The fruit body splits open to release spores, leaving a  large, yellowish star-shaped structure that often persists over winter.  

Scleroderma areolatum (Leopard Earthball) and Scleroderma verrucosum (Scaly Earthball) have thinner outer skins, a pseudostipe or stem, and smaller scales. 

Photograph in habitat; note size, substrate and associated tree species.  Cut a fruit body through vertically to check the width of the peridium (outer skin) and the absence of a stem 

Broadleaved woodlands, often on acid soils, and heathland

Autumn