 The inner peridium is a thin shiny tissue that is depressed into areas demarcated by the pyramidal plates . The puffball base , which occupies about a third to a quarter of the bottom of the fruit body , consists of moderately @-@ sized chambers that persist even after the gleba has matured and the spores have dispersed . The base can assume a purplish hue after weathering . The base is rooted into the soil with rhizomorphs . Initially white , the gleba turns color from yellow to golden brown to dark brown as the spores mature . As the gleba dries , the inner peridium dries and cracks , exposing the spore mass in cracks between the scales . The gleba is supported by a yellowish @-@ brown to light brown subgleba . 
