(5 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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Giant Puffball
Edible 
Summer 
The safest mushroom in the UK for novice foragers with the only look alike being a football.
| Mushroom Type | |
| Common Names | Giant Puffball |
| Scientific Name | Calvatia gigantea |
| Synonyms | Lycoperdon giganteum, Langermannia gigantea |
| Season Start | Jul |
| Season End | Sep |
| Average Mushroom height (CM) | 0 |
| Average Cap width (CM) | 80 |
Cap
Does not have a cap but a large round fruiting body. White to off-white with a fine velvet like surface when young becoming smooth and papery.
Stem
No stem although sometimes they can still be connected to the ground with a fine root like filament..
Flesh
White becoming yellow then brown as it turns into spores.
Habitat
Grasslands, pasture, lawns, commons and roadsides. Found in rings, troops or individually. You will also find these in and around open woodland. They like to hide in amongst nettles and scrub. We have found them on steep sided woodland banks too.
Possible Confusion
The only thing a Giant Puffball can be confused with is a football from a distance.
Spore Print
Yellow/brown. Spherical with fine warts.
Taste / Smell
Excellent. Can be sliced and fried like a steak or breaded and fried for a better texture.
Frequency
Fairly common.
Other Facts
This fungi has the most progeny of any living thing producing up to seven trillion spores on average. It has been estimated that if all the spores from two generations grew into mushrooms, they would produce something 800 times the volume of the Earth.
The spores used to be used by blacksmiths for burns and as a coagulant for staunching wounds.
Breathing in the spores of this fungi can cause Lycoperdonosis a nasty lung disease so care should be taken when handling mature specimens.
1 comment for Giant Puffball
The best ‘fact’ provided on the whole of the website is on this page. Can be confused as a football from a distance! Brilliant.