Desert Shaggy Mane Mushrooms (Podaxis pistillaris) are upright (to about 15-cm high), hard-shelled, white puff-ball-type mushrooms (they do not have gills or a toad-stool top). The stem is hard and somewhat woody.

These mushrooms often appear in the desert after heavy rains. When growing, the exterior is white and leathery. When ripe, they turn dark and the hard shell splits open, exposing the enclosed blackish, spore-bearing tissue to the winds that disperse them widely.

It is said that Desert Shaggy Manes have some antimicrobial activity and that they are edible, but not often eaten.

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Fungi; Class: Agaricomycetes; Order: Agaricales; Family: Agaricaceae. Synonyms: Lycoperdon pistillare and Scleroderma pistillare.