Discharged spore sacs are sticky and have a tendency to strongly adhere to whatever surface they encounter, making them a nuisance to homeowners, pressure washing contractors, landscape mulch producers and insurance companies.

[7] Recent phylogenetic analysis suggests that Sphaerobolus should be placed in the gomphoid-phalloid clade along with related genera like Geastrum, Phallus, Pseudocolus, Ramaria, Clavariadelphus, Gomphus and Gautieria.

At maturity, the exoperidium (outermost layer) splits into several lobes to expose the single, reddish black to dark brown peridiole (spore casing) about 1 mm diam.

Spores develop inside the peridiole and are typically 6–10 x 4–6 μm, elliptical to oblong in shape, thick-walled, and hyaline, and are intermixed with irregularly-shaped cells called gemmae.

[13] After splitting of the peridal layers to expose the gleba, enzymatic conversion of glycogen to glucose increases the internal osmotic pressure and the turgidity of palisade cells in the inner peridial cup.