Puffballs have a soft, fleshy texture that remains white inside until they reach nearly full size or maturity. The spores are entangled amongst a brown cotton wool-like fiber, which ensures that they drift out sparingly over a period of time. From either a pore that opens at the top or the outer layer breaking down and flaking off.

In this genus, spores are released by irregular cracking of the wall.

Lycoperdon are a smaller species, less than 60 mm in diameter, that form a pore at the top to allow the spores to puff out. Thin-skinned and not perfectly spherical with a sterile base. Lycoperdon is Latin for "wolf fart."