puffball
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puff·ball
(pŭf′bôl′)n.
1. Any of various fungi chiefly of the family Lycoperdaceae, having a ball-shaped fruiting body that when pressed or struck releases clouds of small spores.
2. Informal The rounded head of a dandelion that has gone to seed.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
puffball
(ˈpʌfˌbɔːl)n
(Plants) any of various basidiomycetous saprotrophic fungi of the genera Calvatia and Lycoperdon, having a round fruiting body that discharges a cloud of brown spores when mature
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
puff•ball
(ˈpʌfˌbɔl)n.
any of various globular stalkless fungi, of the genus Lycoperdon and allied genera, that emit a cloud of spores when pressed or broken.
[1640–50]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | puffball - any of various fungi of the family Lycoperdaceae whose round fruiting body discharges a cloud of spores when mature fungus - an organism of the kingdom Fungi lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter; ranging from unicellular or multicellular organisms to spore-bearing syncytia family Lycoperdaceae, Lycoperdaceae - a fungus family belonging to the order Lycoperdales; includes puffballs Calvatia gigantea, giant puffball - huge edible puffball up to 2 feet diameter and 25 pounds in weight |
2. | puffball - any of various fungi of the genus Scleroderma having hard-skinned subterranean fruiting bodies resembling truffles genus Scleroderma, Scleroderma - genus of poisonous fungi having hard-skinned fruiting bodies: false truffles Scleroderma aurantium, Scleroderma citrinum - an earthball fungus that is a dingy brownish yellow and a dark purplish interior; the peridium is covered with a pattern of small warts Scleroderma flavidium, star earthball - an earthball with a smooth upper surface that is at first buried in sand; the top of the fruiting body opens up to form segments like the ray of an umbel Scleroderma bovista, smooth earthball - an earthball with a peridium that is firm dry and smooth when young but developing cracks when mature; pale orange-yellow when young and reddish brown at maturity fungus - an organism of the kingdom Fungi lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter; ranging from unicellular or multicellular organisms to spore-bearing syncytia |
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