Giant Puffball

''Calvatia gigantea'', commonly known in English as the giant puffball, is a puffball mushroom commonly found in meadows, fields, and deciduous forests in late summer and autumn. It is found in temperate areas throughout the world.

Taxonomy

The classification of this species has been revised in recent years. First Nature explains that "puffballs, earthballs, earthstars, stinkhorns and several other kinds of fungi were once thought to be related and were known as the gasteromycetes or 'stomach' fungi, because the fertile material develops inside spherical or pear-shaped fruitbodies." However, many mycologists now believe that "the gasteromycetes" do not share single ancestor; they are polyphyletic.

Today, some authors place the giant puffball and other members of genus ''Calvatia'' in order Agaricales. The giant puffball has also been placed in two other genera, ''Lycoperdon'' and ''Langermannia'', in years past. The current view is that the giant puffball is ''Calvatia''.

Description

''Calvatia gigantea'' grows up to wide and high. According to ''First Nature'', it "can grow to 80 cm diameter and weigh several kilograms". A specimen weighing over was recorded in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

The interior of an immature puffball is white, while that of a mature specimen is greenish brown. The fruiting body of a puffball mushroom develops within a few weeks and soon begins to decompose and rot (at which point it is dangerous to eat). Unlike most mushrooms, all the spores of the giant puffball are created inside the fruiting body; large specimens can easily contain several trillion. The spores are yellowish, smooth, and 3–5 μm in size. They produce an olive spore print. Prof. John Lindley has calculated that C. gigantea grows at a rate of sixty million new cells per minute on its way to making seven quintillion (7,000,000,000,000,000,000) spores.

Similar species

Giant puffballs resemble the poisonous earthball (''Scleroderma citrinum''). The latter are distinguished by a much firmer, elastic fruiting body, and having an interior that becomes dark purplish-black with white reticulation early in development.

Identification techniques make it relatively easy to distinguish from others of its genus.

Habitat and distribution

The giant puffball is commonly found in meadows, fields, and deciduous forests in late summer and autumn. It is found in temperate areas throughout the world.

Conservation

It is widespread and common in the United Kingdom and North America (August–October) except for the southeast United States. It is protected in parts of Poland and is of conservation concern in Norway.

Uses

Culinary

The large white mushrooms are edible when young, as are all true puffballs, but they can cause digestive issues if the spores have begun to form—as indicated by the color of the flesh being yellowish or greenish-brown instead of pure white. The Lovesick Lake Native Women's Association explains that an overripe puffball "will fall apart when touched or if cut open" and should be discarded.

Immature gilled species still contained within their universal veil can be lookalikes for puffballs. Many such species are poisonous or even deadly. To distinguish puffballs from such poisonous fungi, they must be cut open; edible puffballs will have a solid white interior and have "no gills or other imperfections".

Medical

Puffballs are a known styptic and have long been used as wound dressing, either in powdered form or as slices 3 cm thick. Authors Hui-Yeng Y. Yap, Mohammad Farhan Ariffeen Rosli, et al. found evidence to suggest that ''C. gigantea'' was "traditionally used by American Indians, Nigerian and German folks" for this purpose. The authors, however, did not specify the preferred form of wound dressing (e.g., powdered or sliced).

New Zealand Māori used it to stem bleeding and treat burns, it was also a food source.

References

Further reading

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External links

Video footage of mature Giant Puffballs



VOLATILES OF THE GIANT PUFFBALL MUSHROOM (Calvatia gigantea)

{{Taxonbar, from=Q222449

Lycoperdaceae
Fungi of Europe
Fungi of North America
Edible fungi
Fungi found in fairy rings
Puffballs
Taxa named by August Batsch
Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon
gigantea
Fungi used for fiber dyes
Fungus species