Skip to main content
Giant Puffball
Calvatia gigantea is the giant puffball, a round to blob-shaped fruit body usually 20-30 cm or more across that can occasionally become enormous. It has no stem or sterile base and is attached by a short, thick cord. Its smooth to finely velvety white skin yellows and then turns olive-brown as the white interior becomes olive-brown spore dust.
Edible when young, while the interior is solid, uniform pure white; discard any with yellow, olive or brown flesh. Older ones can upset digestion or act as a laxative. Cut each one top to bottom to rule out young Amanitas (gilled outline inside), poisonous earthballs (dark purplish-black interior) and stinkhorn eggs (gelatinous layer).
This page grows with the community. Here is what it is still missing:
Join WeMush to log cultivation data, discover strains, and connect with fellow growers.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
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 Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
