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Giant Puffballs
5 species
Calvatia is a genus of puffball fungi in the order Agaricales, placed either in Lycoperdaceae or, in classifications that merge that family, in Agaricaceae. Unlike typical gilled mushrooms, Calvatia species produce spores internally within a gleba. As they mature, the outer skin (peridium) cracks and breaks away to release spores, rather than opening via a specific pore.
Gasteroid fruit bodies (puffballs) that can reach massive sizes (e.g., C. gigantea). They lack a sterile base (subgleba) in some species or have a distinct one in others. The key diagnostic is the irregular rupture of the peridium for spore dispersal, distinguishing them from Lycoperdon (which open via an apical pore). Spore mass turns from white (edible stage) to olive/brown (mature).
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Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
