Look closerFungi
Giant puffballs in lawns and fields from August to October
When: August to October
A white ball the size of a soccer ball sitting in the grass is a giant puffball, one of the largest fungi there is, and a ripe one holds an estimated seven trillion spores.
Why this time of year
Late summer and fall is their season across the eastern United States, so lawn edges, pastures, and forest openings are worth a scan from August through October, especially a few days after rain.
How to notice it
- Scan open grass for white globes; young ones look like lost volleyballs from a distance.
- Sizes run 8 to 20 inches across, and specimens near two feet exist.
- A ripe one turns brownish and its skin cracks; poke it gently with a stick from arm's length and watch the olive-brown spore dust puff out.
- Come back over a few days and watch one grow; they swell fast after rain.
Try this with kids: Poke a ripe brown one with a long stick: how big a puff of spore smoke can you raise?
spores are a fungus's seeds, fine as smoke
Safety
- Look and poke, never taste: no wild mushroom is food without an expert, and young deadly Amanitas can resemble small puffballs, which is why foragers cut every puffball open before trusting it.
- Keep the spore dust at stick's length rather than leaning in over it.
Sources
- artsci.usu.eduA big specimen of the giant puffball can be almost two feet long and can hold 7 trillion spores; they appear during late summer and fall in meadows, under small stands of trees, and around forest openings in the central and eastern USA and Canada; edible only if correctly identified with thick, hard, white flesh inside.
- mdc.mo.govFruiting body width 8-20 inches, as big as a soccer ball or even much larger; grows in open pastures, woods, and lawns; one mycologist estimated seven trillion spores in a 15-inch specimen; spores are released when the sac breaks from weathering or damage; dangerous lookalikes include the deadly destroying angel, which is why each puffball is cut open top to bottom to check for a developing cap or stem.
- dnr.illinois.govThe giant puffball may be nearly 20 inches wide and is one of the largest puffballs, found in grassy areas; spores are produced from late summer through fall; the outer layer flakes off at maturity and spores are yellow to green-brown.
In the guide for August, September, October