Many of us initially confuse the puffballs and the earthballs, which is not a good thing if you enjoy cooking and consuming 'edibles'. Since Scleroderma is poisonous and can cause you to expereince nausea, cold sweats, diarrhea, and vomiting, you probably want to learn a bit about it. I put the Lycoperdon perlatum and the Scleroderma citrinum photos next to each other so that we can more easily distinguish the two.
The peridium, or skin, of Sclerderma citrinum is yellowish-brown, thick, warty and rind-like. Like Lycoperdon perlatum, the spore mass starts out white (see above), but quickly turns dark purple from the outside in (see example above). As the earthball matures further, it cracks into irregular unfolding lobes, allowing the spores within to be released. Both the puffballs and the earthballs fruit at this time of year (late summer through autumn).