Calvatia gigantea also known as Langermannia gigantea, the Giant Puffball, can grow to
80cm diameter and weigh several kilograms. These fungi are edible if
gathered when they are young and white throughout.
Description
|
A large, slightly flattened globe-shaped fruit
body, initially white; lumpy and leathery surface; sometimes wrinkled near
the base, where it is connected to the substrate by a root-like mycelial
cord. Often the mycelial cord breaks, allowing the puffball to roll around
in the wind and distribute spores widely once the outer skin has ruptured. |
Dimensions |
Typically 10 to 80cm across, but exceptionally more than a metre in
diameter. |
Other features |
There is next to no sterile base section:
virtually the whole of this puffball is filled with fertile spore mass. |
Stipe |
None. |
Spores |
Olive-brown. |
Odour/taste |
Very feint, pleasant odour; no distinctive
taste. |
Habitat |
Mainly found at the edges of fields and among
briars in waste ground. |
Season |
July to November. |
Occurrence |
Rare in most areas. |
Similar species |
Calvatia ultriformis is much smaller, shaped like a
vertically-squashed pear and has a sterile base section. |
|
