Chlamydopus meyenianus

This is a one of the powdery-spored, somewhat puffball-like fungi. The fruitbody consists of a whiteish, corky to woody stem from 5 to 30 centimetre long, which broadens towards the top to support a mass of powdery spores. The spore mass is initially contained within a double-layered case. The whole structure resembles a slightly flattened sphere and measures 2 to 4 centimetre across.  The inner layer consists of a thin, smooth skin and the outer is thicker, chunky and coarsely warted. The outer layer disappears very early and later the inner layer breaks up and falls away to expose the spores for wind dispersal. To see the outer layer you need to see the fruitbody very soon after it has appeared.

Around the base of the stem there is a cup-like structure (called a volva) and to see this you would need to (gently!) dig out the fruit body.

This species is also found North and South America and is commonly found in arid areas

Look-alikes

There are several other ‘stemmed puffball’ genera, but mostly the fruitbodies lack the volva. In Australia Battarea is another volvate species. However, in Chlamydopus the stem broadens smoothly into the encased spore mass whereas in Battarea the stem does not broaden, so the encased spore mass is sharply differentiated from the stem.

Reference

Norvell, L.L., J.F. Ammirati and S.A. Redhead. 2008. Woody desert puffballs of the Pacific Northwest 1: Chlamydopus meyenianus. North American Fungi 3(7): 127–138.

(Available here:  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255610166_Woody_desert_puffballs_of_the_Pacific_Northwest_1_Chlamydopus_meyenianus) This paper includes photos of the fruitbody with the very ephemeral outer layer.