Aussie puffballs

[The Deb-One-Amine]

Any body Know anything about these guys ive seen a few differnt types now ill describe them and get pics soon. they are about the size of a ping ping ball and are a slighty fissured white ball that when split has purple(something) inside the others are the sameish but they are soft and let off a puff of dust(spores?)when squezzed these are grey and range from tiny to the size of a ping pong ball. any help?

[Thegribbs]

When I used to live in Middlemount those thing used to be EVERYWHERE. Apparently the dust is poisonous too but not sure how true that is. Used to run around with my mates all the time jumping and kicking these things....good times. Hahaha

[mutant]

the dust is harmful to the lungs, able to cause serious breathing problems, but not directly toxic, as far as I remember.

puffballs are mostly Lycoperdon, Bovista and Handkea species and they're eaten [when immature and completely white on the inside - can be seen cutting the puffball in half ] all over the world.

Quite common genuses they are.

Attention to newbies picking is needed as small whitish mushrooms of many kinds, notably amanitas can resemble a puffball in the untrained eye!

they also have medicinal properties, like many mushrooms.

[The Deb-One-Amine]

Looool I thought it was a baby amanitas just poking out nope same crapp puff balls.. damn heaps of Lbm around that tree too.

[strangebrew]

Ran across an area full of these recently, seem to like sand. The small ones smelt nice and mushroomy. Any one ever eaten them?

The freakiest thing was nearby. I'm sure it was an outsized/full-sized puffball but it had formed the shape of a mushroom - curved top with a flat bottom & a stem but it was all the same with no gills to speak off. Wish I'd had a camera. I picked it but it was funky smelling and I couldn't be buggered carrying it.

[executi0n]

Here are some pictures I took a couple years ago when I went out in to the hills on a bush walk/mushroom hunt.

I'm not sure if they are the same kind of puff balls you are talking about, but these are the kinds I usually come across. After leaving it for a couple of days I checked on it again and it had started to split open (which you can see in the pics).

As said above, when squeezed/stepped on/etc they release a dust, which is originally what made me look into them.

-executi0n

[The Deb-One-Amine]

Nope sorry Ex mine are different ill get some pics but the things are tricky to spot

[executi0n]

Okay cool. I've seen other puffball type mushrooms around, but haven't got any pictures on my computer of them.

Look forward to seeing any pics if you can get them, might have seen some of them myself.

I still haven't gotten a positive ID on the ones I posted above, but they look somewhat similar to the Lycoperdon umbrinum mushrooms. I don't know what it is, but mushrooms have something about them that just attract me to them, which is really weird since I don't really like the taste of them haha

[mutant]

The small ones smelt nice and mushroomy. Any one ever eaten them?

sure. I am not thrilled by them, but I will pickl them if few adibles are around and make an omellete. Have also made hot red spagetti sauce [dried material] with them. I don't really like the smell of it raw, but it's getting pretty intersting dried too...

I am talking of the really common Lycoperdon perlatum and L.pyriformis, which I have personally tasted.

Bovistas are not so nice as Lycoperdons, and Handkea I haven't tasted. People have told me the Lycoperdon are the best of the lot and Handkeas are overrated due to their size.

...the one execution posted, wow a beautiful mushroom. Remind me of a rarer Lycoperdon [echinocephalus or something] of europe, haven't found it in my area.

Edited August 18, 2010 by mutant

[mud]

In Oz, it is my understanding that you can eat any true puffball that hasn't sporulated. I've acted on that for the past 5 years. nom nom nom

I wouldnt go near those spiky yellow ones personally. Im not sure they want to be eaten.

Many others remain with their marshmallowy appearance. Nice top get em before they crack on top too.

But if you cut them in half, and are certain there no gills gonna form-

Usually u have a day or 2 before they change.

I eat them raw straight off the ground. Moisture makes them chewy, and I havent had many that seem worth cooking.

Edited August 19, 2010 by mud

[The Deb-One-Amine]

well it took a while But i have a photo of the one i described( alot darker purple ) and also another i found a Deathly looking fuckin thing..

[SunChaser]

Here are some very cool looking puffballs I found about 20km west of Ballarat a few years ago.

They were seriously the best smelling mushrooms I’ve ever smelt. They were in my cupboard for a few days and left this fresh mushroom earthy aroma in my cupboard for like a week after. Sheep had dug them up, they probably would have eaten them if they didn’t see me coming across the paddock. So it was a very lucky find.

Peace