what is puffball fungus

Puffball Fungi in Grass

• Identification. Puffball fruiting bodies, or mushrooms, are spherical or pearlike in shape and usually about 1 inch or less in diameter.
• Life Cycle. The spores produced by puffball mushrooms are carried by wind to new locations. ...
• Toxicity. Although some species of puffball mushrooms are edible, others are poisonous. ...
• Management. ...

Full Answer

What are the physical characteristics for the puffball fungi?

• Edibility – 2/5 – Only eat if white throughout – discard if yellowing or powdery.
• Identification – 3/5 – see below
• Distribution – 4/5 (stump/common) – 2/5 (meadow)
• Season – June – November
• Habitat – see below

Do puffball have stem and gills?

True puffballs do not have a visible stalk or stem. The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage. The distinguishing feature of all puffballs is that they do not have an open cap with spore-bearing gills.

Are puffball mushroom spores dangerous?

Why is Inhaling Puffball Spores So Dangerous? Puffball mushrooms, when mature, release spores that irritate the alveoli (air sacs) in the lungs. This leads to inflammation and activation of the immune system (explaining why people often have symptoms like nausea and pains, much like the symptoms of a common cold).

Are puffball mushrooms safe to eat?

Puffball mushrooms are safe to eat only if you know how to identify them or get them from a reliable and experienced source. They can be toxic if they aren’t ripe or are past ripe, not to mention the poisonous look-alikes!

Can you eat puffball fungus?

Giant puffball mushrooms, or Calvatia gigantea, are a popular and recognizable edible mushroom. Puffballs are round with a white interior and exterior and grow on small, barely noticeable stems. The tofu-like texture of puffballs makes them extremely versatile to cook with.

How poisonous are puffballs?

Are puffball mushrooms poisonous? Most puffballs are not poisonous, and most mature puffballs can be eaten either raw or cooked. There are some fatally poisonous mushrooms that look a lot like puffballs when they are young. Aside from eating unripe or soured puffballs, the deadly look-alikes are the real issue.

What are puffballs good for?

One last way to cook with puffballs is to use them as a substitute for tofu. Since they absorb the taste of other stuff you cook them with, this is a good option. You can cut them into tiny cubes and grill them, use them in miso soup, toss them in teriyaki sauce, or anything you'd normally do with tofu.

Are puffball fungus poisonous to dogs?

There are many types of puffball mushrooms; while the common puffball is edible, many that share similar appearances are poisonous to dogs and humans.

How much is a puffball mushroom worth?

How much is a puffball worth? The larger puffball species are sometimes sold in markets and specialized shops during the mushroom season. They usually cost anywhere from $10 to $20 per pound.

What happens if you inhale puffball spores?

If inhaled in large quantities, Puffball spores can lead to Lycoperdonitis which causes inflammation of the alveoli in the lungs.

What do puff balls taste like?

Giant puffballs have a mild nutty and earthy taste. And like most mushrooms, they soak up the flavor of any marinades or sauces really well. They can be cooked in many different ways and substituted into most recipes that call for mushrooms.

What time of year do puffballs grow?

Late summer to early fall, usually August through October depending on the region. Note that there are other species that are sometimes considered “giant puffballs” besides Calvatia gigantea. Depending on where you live, your mushroom may look a little different.

How can you tell if a puffball is edible?

If a mushroom is a pure white on the inside, with no sign of gills at all, then it's a puffball. Still, there are a few puffballs that are toxic, so a lack of gills isn't a sure sign that you have an edible puffball mushroom. A lack of gills and a pure white interior are both required to identify edible species.

Why are puffballs growing in my yard?

Puffballs resemble balls or pears growing in a lawn. Mushrooms and puffballs are both caused by fungi that thrive on organic matter in the soil. Mushrooms often grow from buried organic matter in the soil such as logs, roots, tree stumps, or construction lumber.

Is there a poisonous mushroom that looks like a puffball?

See photos below. The deadly Amanita can look like a puffball but has the outline of a mushroom-to-be inside. Never take for granted you have a puffball. Always cut each one open vertically, top to bottom, and make sure it is one solid soft white mass inside with no outline.

How big can a puffball mushroom get?

Most giant puffballs grow to be 10 to 50 centimetres (4 to 20 inches), sometimes to be 90 cm (35 in) in diameter; although occasionally some can reach diameters up to 150 cm (60 in) and weights of 20 kg (44 lb).

Can you touch puffball mushroom?

A similar looking yet poisonous puffball is called the poison pigskin puffball (Scleroderma aurantium). Notice the genus (the first name) is not Calvatia. You can tell this mushroom right away by your miraculous gift of the sense of touch (No poisonous mushroom harms people by touch).

What happens if you eat pigskin poison puffball?

citrinum). Both species cause severe gastric upset if consumed. The pigskin puffball is a rounded, warted, yellowish brown ball with blackish purple flesh.

Are all puff balls edible?

Only young, immature puffballs are edible. The interior tissue must be soft; bread-like; and uniformly white. Once the flesh changes color and/or becomes mushy, spores are present. The mushroom is past its prime, no longer edible, and can cause digestive problems.

Are Earth Balls poisonous?

Common earthball may not be deadly, but it is poisonous and is responsible for lots of mushroom poisonings in the UK each year. It might be because they can be confused with common puffballs, which are edible. In the past, common earthballs were sometimes even passed off as truffles.

What is a puffball mushroom?

What are puffball mushrooms? Puffballs are a group of mushrooms that includes several different species. All true puffballs are edible, although there are some false puffballs ...

What is the name of the mushroom that looks like a puffball?

There are several species of poisonous Amanita mushrooms that can look similar to puffballs during their early growth stages. Once you get a puffball mushroom home, the first thing you should do is cut it in half. The inside flesh should be thick, hard, and solid white.

How many spores can puffballs produce?

A single average-sized puffball can produce as many as seven trillion spores. But the spores also have an extremely low germination rate, and only about one in a trillion will actually grow into a new puffball in nature.

How do you know if a puffball is toxic?

Instead, the spores form in what’s called a gleba in the middle of the fruitbody. When puffballs start to mature, the gleba in the center may start to turn yellow or green. This isn’t necessarily a sign that the puffball you’ve found is toxic, but you may simply have found it a week or two too late.

How do puffballs get their name?

What you experienced was a fully mature puffball releasing its spores. That’s where puffballs get their names from. They mature and release clouds of spores when the mushroom bursts or something makes contact with it. Puffballs look unlike most other types of mushrooms since they don’t have gills.

What color are puffballs?

Discard any suspected puffballs that have the shape of a mushroom or evidence of gills inside of them, or any brown, black, yellow, or purple color ation inside of them. True puffballs will be solid white inside. Anything else is a different type of mushroom that may cause an upset stomach or even severe poisoning.

What happens when you harvest puffballs?

When you harvest puffballs, check the bottom of them where they attach to the ground to make sure there are no larvae or worms. Insects love mushrooms, and puffballs are no exceptions.

Why are puffballs called puffballs?

Puffballs are named for the fact that puffs of spores are released when the dry and powdery tissues of the mature spherical fruiting body (basidiocarp) are. Puffball | fungus | Britannica. BrowseSearch. QuizzesGamesOn This Day.

Where are puffballs found?

Puffball, Any of various fungi (seefungus) in the phylum Basidiomycota, found in soil or on decaying wood in grassy areas and woods. Puffballs are named for the fact that puffs of spores are released when the dry and powdery tissues of the mature spherical fruiting body (basidiocarp) are disturbed. Many are edible before maturity.

What is a Puffball Mushroom?

Puffball mushrooms aren’t typical mushrooms that you see, so many people don’t know what they are. Chances are you’ve even seen a puffball mushroom without realizing it. There isn’t just one single species of puffball mushroom.

Identifying Puffball Mushrooms

Puffball mushrooms are super easy to identify. They are shaped similar to pears in some cases and spheres in others. They only grow to about an inch in diameter, so they stay pretty small.

Are Puffball Mushrooms Dangerous?

Some puffball mushrooms are completely edible, but there are some types that are poisonous. You will be able to determine if a puffball mushroom is dangerous by how it looks. The poisonous ones will typically have a hard-rind, thick skin, and dark insides even when they are young.

Life Cycle of Puffball Mushrooms

Before you can understand how to control and get rid of puffball mushrooms, you need to understand what their life cycle looks like. The spores that are generated by fully grown puffballs are released and spread into other areas.

Controlling Puffball Mushrooms

Since puffball mushrooms aren’t considered to be a pest, you don’t really have to do anything to control them. However, if you don’t like the way they look in your yard or you are concerned about a potentially poisonous puffball, there are a few ways you can deal with them.

Eliminating Puffball Mushrooms

If you absolutely can’t stand the puffball mushrooms in your yard, you can get rid of them completely with a fungicide. The only downfall to fungicides is they can sometimes have a negative impact on your grass.

Puffball Mushroom Identification (General Characteristics and Traits)

The general characteristic of puffballs is roundness, but as noted, it’s important to recognize that as similar as puffballs look, they are not really all one group. There are at least 13 genera in five families. Here is a very brief introduction to each puff genus (although please bear in mind mushroom taxonomy changes often).

List of Puffball Mushrooms

It’s actually a bit difficult to determine which puffballs are the most popular, since many writers persist in referring to puffballs as if they were a single species. Nevertheless, here are a few often mentioned individually by name.

Puffball Mushroom Look-Alikes

As noted, the puffball group is more or less defined by appearance, so the close look-alikes of puffballs are, arguably, puffballs. Alternatively, one could define the puffs very narrowly (for example, only including the Calvatias and the Lycoperdons ), in which case groups such as the earthballs become look-alikes.

Puffball Mushroom Benefits

Many puffball species are edible. Like most edible mushrooms, they are healthy to eat, packing a lot of protein and other nutrients in with very little fat and few calories. Details depend on the species. Some reportedly have traditional medicinal uses, though few, if any, are well-known medicinals.

Puffball Mushroom Toxicity, Safety, Side Effects

The most serious risk with eating puffballs is the possibility of accidentally eating an Amanita egg instead. Such a mistake could kill, depending on the species of Amanita. It is vitally important to learn to tell the difference between the two, and to always check before eating.

Where do puffballs come from?

Where Puffballs Come From. Unseen beneath the soil of your lawn, the fungi that produce the puffballs are quietly helping to break down decaying organic matter in the soil. They're providing a necessary service to recycle dead plant material back into the nutrients needed by growing plants.

How do puffballs grow?

Puffballs start out small, and how fast they grow depends on the species. The larger species can exert quite a bit of pressure on the soil around them as they quickly expand. The Press of Atlantic City reports on puffballs that break through asphalt, sidewalks and swimming pool liners as they emerge. The young puffballs are firm both inside and outside. As they mature, the insides soften and form the spore-producing tissue. At maturity, the puffball is dry inside and filled with many tiny, light spores. The spores are released when the puffball splits or breaks open, releasing the spores to be carried on the air. Sometimes they issue out of the fruiting body like puffs of smoke.

What happens when a puffball splits?

At maturity, the puffball is dry inside and filled with many tiny, light spores. The spores are released when the puffball splits or breaks open, releasing the spores to be carried on the air. Sometimes they issue out of the fruiting body like puffs of smoke. Advertisement.

Why do puffballs pop up in lawns?

Because puffballs are poisonous, wear gloves when handling them. Image Credit: fotopitu/iStock/Getty Images. Puffballs, a type of fungus, sometimes pop up in lawns, often after a rainy period during warm summer weather. Puffballs range from small, 1-inch-wide ones to giant puffballs more than 40 inches in diameter that can weigh 50 pounds.

What is the color of a puffball?

A pinkish-tan color identifies the purple-spotted puffball (Calvatia cyathiformis), and the pyramid puffball (Calvatia sculpta) has pyramid-shaped warts. Few puffballs live in the South and the Gulf Coast states. Advertisement.

What is the name of the mass of fungi that grows on dead wood?

It usually resembles a tangled bunch of light- or dark-colored threads. Often you can see fungal mycelia on dead wood.

Can you control puffballs in your yard?

Controlling Puffballs. Because the naturally existing fungal hyphae that produce puffballs grow over a large area under the lawn, there's no real way to control them. All puffballs can be toxic if eaten, so it's important to keep curious kids and pets away from them.

What is puffball fungus?

Puffball Fungi in Grass. The appearance of white, ball-shaped mushrooms in your grass can be alarming , but puffball mushrooms are more of a nuisance than a cause for panic. Puffball mushrooms are members of the class Basiciomycota.

When do puffball fungi produce fruit?

When the mycelia have developed enough and favorable conditions are present, typically about late summer to fall, fruiting bodies are produced. The fruiting bodies create new spores, and the cycle repeats. Puffball fungi can survive in a lawn’s soil for years, producing fruiting structures only when conditions are favorable for their growth, ...

How do puffball mushrooms produce spores?

The spores produced by puffball mushrooms are carried by wind to new locations. Spores that reach a lawn germinate and send out hyphae, which are long filaments or strands. The strands support the fruiting body of the fungus when it is produced, and they decompose organic matter in the lawn. Individual hyphae are difficult to see without magnification, but when the fungus has produced a mass of hyphae, referred to as mycelia, you may be able to make out the threadlike mass. When the mycelia have developed enough and favorable conditions are present, typically about late summer to fall, fruiting bodies are produced. The fruiting bodies create new spores, and the cycle repeats. Puffball fungi can survive in a lawn’s soil for years, producing fruiting structures only when conditions are favorable for their growth, such as when prolonged periods of wetness occur.

How big do puffball mushrooms get?

Puffball fruiting bodies, or mushrooms, are spherical or pearlike in shape and usually about 1 inch or less in diameter . Some puffballs grow to more than 1 foot in diameter and can weigh several pounds, but typically they are not found in turfgrass.

What color are puffballs?

Young puffballs of most species are creamy white on both their inside and outside. As they mature, their inside takes on a yellow color. When the puffballs are fully mature, their inside becomes a dark green to purple mass of spores. The fruiting bodies eventually rupture, and spores are released.

Can puffball fungi survive in lawns?

Puffball fungi can survive in a lawn’s soil for years, producing fruiting structures only when conditions are favorable for their growth, such as when prolonged periods of wetness occur. Get the Best Mortgage Rate for You | SmartAsset.com. Loading.

Is a puffball fungus parasitic?

Management. Puffball fungi are not parasitic or infectious, according to a University of California Integrated Pest Management Online article. So they don’t require control to ensure your lawn's health, but they are unsightly, and some can be foul-smelling or, as mentioned, poisonous.

Species

The best-known puffball species are Lycoperdon perlatum (common puffball) and Calvatia gigantea (giant puffball). Several other related species are also classified as puffballs, as well as mushrooms in the genera Bovista.

Puffball Mushroom Identification

The best way to avoid puffball mushroom poisonous look-alikes is by cutting the fungi in half, top to bottom.

Are Puffballs Edible?

Puffball mushrooms are edible but only when they are young. Some have a mild flavor that some people compare to shrimp, while others are quite bland. As they mature and fill with spores, they become unpleasant to eat.

Benefits

Like all mushrooms, puffballs are highly nutritious. They contain a range of essential and non-essential amino acids and have one of the highest protein contents of any fungi.

Bottom Line on Puffballs

Puffball mushrooms include members of the Lycoperdon, Calvatia, and Bovista families. These fungi are not closely related, but they do share several key features. For example, they have a ball-like appearance and release puffs of spores when mature, giving them their common name.

What is a puffball?

These puffballs are the fruiting structure of a fungus, and come in a variety of sizes. Perhaps the most common species of puffball is the giant puffball, Langermannia giganteum (formerly Calvatia gigantea). This puffball can grow up to a foot or more in diameter, appearing as a large, white ball.

How big can puffballs grow?

This puffball can grow up to a foot or more in diameter , appearing as a large, white ball. At first it has the texture of a marshmallow, but as the puffball matures it turns olive-brown, and the interior becomes spongy and filled with spores.

Why is my lawn bumpy?

When they mature, they open up revealing spores inside, and this develops depressions in the soil surface, causing the lawn to be bumpy. Puffballs are not harmful to people, pets, or plants, but can be a nuisance in well-maintained lawns.

Is a puffball edible?

Giant puffballs are not harmful and are in fact edible when young and white inside. However, you should cut the puffball in half before eating it to make sure it does not have a stalk inside; young deadly Amanita mushrooms look similar to puffballs from the outside.

What is a hard puffball?

Sometimes they are referred to as hard puffballs. Most Scleroderma species develop tuber like fungi, partially or completely buried in the ground. Unfortunately, some species are known to produce toxins as mentioned in various mycology books and resources.

What fungi have bumpy bodies?

There are several, unrelated fungi that can produce macroscopic somewhat rounded, bump-like fungal bodies. Artificially grouped in the gasteroid fungi, all that puffballs, earthstars, and earth balls have in common their rounded shape. The sample submitted was a Scleroderma species, one of the many mushrooms known as earth ball.

What is an earthball?

Earth balls, Scleroderma, can be associated with trees, around logs or stumps, but also in lawns. As it matures an earthball appears as somewhat circular depression in the ground. Such depressions may be considered a nuisance on highly manicured lawns.