Calvatia Fr., Summa vegetabilium Scandinaviae 2: 442. 1849.

Synonyms: Langermannia Rostk., Deutschlands Flora, Abt. III. Die Pilze Deutschlands 5-18: 23. 1839. Bovistaria P. Karst., Bidrag till Kännedom av Finlands Natur och Folk 48: 9. 1889. Calvatia subgen. Langermannia (Rostk.) Jeppson & E. Larss., Mycological Research 112 (1): 14. 2007. Handkea Kreisel, Nova Hedwigia 48: 282. 1989. Calvatia sect. Handkea (Kreisel) M. Lange, Blyttia 51 (3-4): 143. 1993. Hippoperdon Mont., Annales des Sciences Naturelles Botanique 17: 121. 1842. Calvatia subgen. Hippoperdon (Mont.) M. Lange, Blyttia 51 (3-4): 143. 1993. Hypoblema Lloyd, The genera of Gasteromycetes (7): 11. 1902. Lanopila Fr., Kongliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlinger 1848: 151. 1849. Lasiosphaera Reichardt, Reise Oesterr. Novara Bot.: 135. 1870. Omalycus Raf., Précis des découvertes et travaux somiologiques de Mr. C. S. Rafinesque-Schmaltz entre 1800 et 1814, ou choix raisonné de ses principales découvertes en zoologie et en botanique pour servir d'introduction a ses ouvrages futurs: 52. 1814. Eriosphaera Reichardt, Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft Wien 16: 373. 1866. Lycoperdon subgen. Bovistaria Fr., Summa vegetabilium Scandinaviae 2: 442. 1849.

Type species: Calvatia craniiformis (Schwein.) Fr., Summa vegetabilium Scandinaviae 2. 1849.

Description: The peridium is double, compact, both membranous and concrete, corticed skin, with undulating folds rising from above; compact hair, pedicellate spore. Basidiocarp lobed, white to tan in colour, ballshaped when young but soon developing a sterile base and becoming shaped like an inverted pear or a skull. At initially stage the skin (peridium) was smooth, developed wrinkles and folds as it matured, cracking and flaking with age. The peridum was smooth at first but the upper surface developed into indentations and grooves and the whole head looked like a human brain. The fruit body was slightly tapering towards base attached by a thick, peridia broke apart to expose the gleba (spore mass). The gleba was violaceous. Basidiospores globose to subglobose, pedicellate spore. Calvatia is a genus of puffball mushrooms that includes the spectacular giant puffball C. gigantea. It was formerly classified within the now-obsolete order Lycoperdales, which, following a restructuring of fungal taxonomy brought about by molecular phylogeny, has been split, the puffballs, Calvatia spp. are now placed in the family Agaricaceae of the order Agaricales.