What is it Wednesday: September 22, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

September 22, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

This is a giant puffball mushroom. 

This time of year, it’s not uncommon to hear of people thinking they saw a volleyball or soccer ball left sitting in the yard, and on closer inspection realizing it is a large mushroom!

Giant puffballs are solid white on the outside and on the inside when fresh, and have no stem. As puffballs get older, spores develop on the inside, and the previously solid white center becomes a powdery gray-green. When disturbed (stepped on, tapped with a finger, hit with raindrops, etc.), this gray-green powder full of spores puffs out, giving puffballs their name. Giant puffballs are large and usually occur singly in an area, but other types of puffballs are much smaller and occur in large clusters.

puffball mushrooms after decaying and spreading spores

Giant puffballs and their smaller cousins are edible, BUT they do have two very poisonous look-alikes. Here’s a description from www.eattheweeds.com :  “Never take for granted you have a puffball. Always cut each one open vertically, top to bottom, and make sure it is one solid soft white mass inside with no outline.  You should make sure the inside is pure white, never dark, and that the outer skin of the puffball is thin. If the inside is dark from the start and the outer skin is thick you probably have Scleroderma, one of the earth balls. With smaller puffballs you must make sure the entire fruiting body is homogeneous, consistently a texture of marshmallows. You should slice down the center of every puffball to make sure there is not a pre-formed mushroom inside. If so, it is likely to be an immature form of the death angels, Amanita bisporigera, Amanita virosa, and Amanita verna. They are all deadly…. Ninety percent of all mushroom fatalities involve Amanitas.”

a mushroom not fully developed, looking a bit like a puffball but may be an amanita

 Even when you have conclusively identified a puffball, it can only be eaten if the inside is still completely white and a uniform texture.  

Remember to only eat mushrooms if you are experienced in identifying them or are with someone who is; and the safest way to avoid eating a poisonous mushroom is to not eat wild mushrooms. This is much less of a concern for animals, who can often eat many things that are poisonous to humans. The surface of this giant puffball has already been nibbled on by many small creatures – a giant feast!

Fall is a great time to spot interesting mushrooms - keep your eyes open wherever you are outdoors, or check out www.Lutherlyn.com to find out how you can visit Lutherlyn this fall and see what fascinating fungi you can spy here!

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!