A medium‑sized true puffball, locally distinctive in New Zealand not easly seperated from Calvatia lilacina that looks similar.

Peridium: Usually 60-150 mm across; occasionally up to 200 mm, globose, subglobose, or slightly flattened; sometimes irregular with age. White to cream when young, ages to buff, tan, or pale brown. Often develops large polygonal cracks or plates as the peridium dries. Firm and homogeneous when immature; becomes brittle and papery at maturity.
Exoperidium: Thick, persistent, white to buff. Cracks into large, irregular plates, especially in dry weather.
Endoperidium: Tough, leathery, yellow-brown to lilac-brown. Opens irregularly, not by a defined apical pore.
Subgleba: Well developed, forming a thick sterile base of spongy tissue. Pale, chambered, contributing significantly to the fruit body's mass.
Gleba: When immature, white, firm and edible at this stage. Mature lilac-brown to purple-brown and powdery, this colouration is the key diagnostic feature of the species. Spore release through large irregular tears in the peridium.