Page author: Olivia Filialuna
Calvatia gigantea
giant puffball
Specimens
Photos

Substrate: fields, pastures, open woods, cemeteries, on exposed hillsides, along roads, in drainage ditches, etc.

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Edibility: Edible when the flesh is firm and white.

Description:
Edibility:

Edible when the flesh is firm and white.

Identification Notes:

Fruiting Body: softball- basketball-sized (8-60 cm in diameter), round or sometimes lobed or occasionally somewhat flattened on top in age. outer layer of peridium thick when young (2-4 mm), at first smooth (with texture of kid glove) and pure white or brownish-stained, then cracking up into flat scales or plates which eventually flake off to expose the thin olive-brown inner layer - which soon disintegrates - or both layers falling off together. Sterile bases: absent or rudimentary, but a cordlike "root" often present. Spore mass: at first white and firm or cheesy, becoming greenish-yellow and mushy with an unpleasant odor (like urine), finally deep olive-brown to brown and powdery.

Sources: Arora, David. Mushrooms Demystified. Berkeley, Ten Speed Press, 1986.

Accepted Name:
Calvatia gigantea (Batsch: Pers.) Lloyd

Synonyms & Misapplications:
(none provided)
Additional Resources:

PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Calvatia gigantea in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database

CalPhotos: Calvatia gigantea photos

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