# Giant Puff Balls



## ArrowHawk (Apr 1, 2003)

I hit an area last night that had over 2 dozen Giant Puffballs in it, more then half of them were Volleyball size. I grab 7 of them, 2 for me and the rest for a few guys at work.


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## Ladygill (Dec 28, 2002)

ArrowHawk said:


> I hit an area last night that had over 2 dozen Giant Puffballs in it, more then half of them were Volleyball size. I grab 7 of them, 2 for me and the rest for a few guys at work.


I thought puffballs were poisonous?


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## Michigan Mike (May 21, 2004)

Ladygill said:


> I thought puffballs were poisonous?


No, most are quite edible and considered choice.
Personally I don't care for the giants due to lack of flavor and prefer
the 2 smaller varietes which are the gem-studded in late summer and the pear shaped puffballs that are out right now growing on stumps.
The main key is they need to be pure white and firm on the inside when you pick them and no signs of gills as it could be a button amanita which
could be a deadly mistake..

The 2 smaller ones to be avoided in Michigan are the Pigskin poison puffball and the spiny puff that I know of.

Mike


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## Ladygill (Dec 28, 2002)

Mushrooms scare me. My mother made the mistake of picking the button amanita. She cooked them up with onions and served them with steak for dinner when I was a kid. Needless to say being a kid. I was not going to eat the fungus and it sia good thing I did not. My Mother and father ate them and my father became very ill, but my Mother ended up in the hospital with her kidneys begining to fail. She did not die, but it was a horrifying experience being a kid only 6 years old. So yeah be careful out there picking mushrooms. Know your shrooms before you attempt to hunt them. Thanks for the informative post Michigan Mike.


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## victor mi pro bowhunter (Feb 12, 2001)

most are easy to id once u learn how most puffballs are edible the gem studded 
are the best there small but u can find hundreds of them look around open fields with no grass the giants are ok but they will smell up your freezer and make everything in it taste like them try baking them like chicken parmesan


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

I saw my very first giant this fall up here, seems like it was early September now. I've never seen one up here before, but this one stuck right out. 

It was HUGE, the size of a volleyball, and perfectly smooth and round. Pure, glittering white. Awesome. I took a bunch of photos of it. 

I've gone through this area a trillion times in the last 20 odd years, and have never seen anything like this before. I think the hot summer up here had a lot to do with it. 

I don't mess with the fall mushrooms, since I don't know anything about them, except for shaggy manes. They're easy to identify.

I'd like to get someone up here like Oldgranddad, who really knows his fungi, sometime in the early fall to help me figure out all the mushrooms I see every year.


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## Ladygill (Dec 28, 2002)

Linda is it possible for you to share your photos with others here on MS? I know I would like to see this monster.


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

Linda G. said:


> I saw my very first giant this fall up here, seems like it was early September now. I've never seen one up here before, but this one stuck right out.
> 
> It was HUGE, the size of a volleyball, and perfectly smooth and round. Pure, glittering white. Awesome. I took a bunch of photos of it.
> 
> ...


Oldgrandman might be able to help. Old Grand-Dad is what fuels him . 
I'll keep it in mind next season. That is a beautiful area you have and a day or weekend trip is certainly not out of the question. Hopefully a more normal weather pattern next year. Keep in touch on it!


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## sfw1960 (Apr 7, 2002)

Oldgrandman said:


> Oldgrandman might be able to help. *Old Grand-Dad is what fuels him **. *
> I'll keep it in mind next season. That is a beautiful area you have and a day or weekend trip is certainly not out of the question. Hopefully a more normal weather pattern next year. Keep in touch on it!


:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
aH kNoW dAT's r!TE !!!!


:evilsmile


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