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Found this mushroom today. It's a kind of puffball mushroom and I think pestle puffball but I hope someone can confirm that/point me to other likely species.

It was in Central Eastern Sweden (Uppsala) in a pine and birch forest. Autumn has been quite dry so the season may be a bit delayed. They were in bunches of 2-5 mushrooms, they are about 1-4cm across the ball and the stem is quite fat plus about 1-3cm long. They are white through the middle.enter image description here

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    $\begingroup$ As an addition - we ate it, none of us are dead at present. It tasted quite good. $\endgroup$
    – rg255
    Oct 7, 2013 at 21:44
  • $\begingroup$ Gutsy on eating it. Did it have a sour, bitter, or nutty flavor by any chance? $\endgroup$
    – Atl LED
    Oct 8, 2013 at 1:23
  • $\begingroup$ My first thought is Lycoperdon perlatum. I don't suppose you took any photos as you cut it up to eat it? $\endgroup$
    – Atl LED
    Oct 8, 2013 at 1:32
  • $\begingroup$ @AtlLED It was eaten based on the conclusion it was either l perlatun or the pestle puffball, both of which are edible, I couldn't find anything poisonous that looked similar. Flavor was a little nutty. Are these perhaps a little too small to be pestle puffballs? $\endgroup$
    – rg255
    Oct 8, 2013 at 6:05
  • $\begingroup$ Strange mushrooms which I am seeing it for the first time ! Would it be 'Lycoperdon echinatum' ? I think genus 'Lycoperdon' will give some answer to this. $\endgroup$
    – Pradeep S
    Oct 8, 2013 at 7:55

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Given what you've said in the comments, and how much more common they are, I'm going with my first gut reaction of Lycoperdon perlatum. The big give away for me was that you said there was a good taste. L. Perlatum has a rich nutty flavor (my wife grows them), but Handkea excipuliformis (pestle puffballs) don't have much taste if any. They are seriously notably bland. H. excipuliformis can take on the flavor of what ever you cook them with, so if you cooked in a nut oil or with nuts, then you would have given the flavor that way.

Not that I support taste as a primary means of id... In this case most of the puffballs are edible so you were in a low risk situation. I just don't want to start a wave of fungus ID's that include taste info!

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    $\begingroup$ A taste based field guide to fungi, perfect for adrenaline junkies interested in foraging! $\endgroup$
    – rg255
    Oct 8, 2013 at 20:59
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    $\begingroup$ @GriffinEvo The business model is easy. We give away the guide, and charge a "killing" for the anti-toxins. $\endgroup$
    – Atl LED
    Oct 8, 2013 at 21:17

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