Mushrooms aren't an unusual find on an outdoor adventure. But there is one kind of mushroom that can be a little hard to pass by once you know what they are capable of. It’s puffballs!
Puffballs look like you think they do based on the name. They are spherical, ranging in size from smaller than a marble to larger than a soccer ball or even a beach ball.
What’s really special about these mushrooms is what happens when you push down on the top of one. If the time is right, a gentle push will release millions of spores up into the air like plumes of smoke or clouds of dust.
So where can you find these hard-to-resist mushrooms? There are many different species of puffball, but most grow in open areas or grassy open spots in forests. You can also find some species growing on fallen logs and decaying wood.
Like many other mushroom species, puffballs are decomposers. They feed on organic matter such as leaf litter, dead grass, decaying wood and dead tree roots. As they do, they break down, or decompose, it. This then recycles the nutrients, and then they can be used by other organisms.
Puffballs aren't just waiting for humans to find them and give them a gentle push to send their spores out into the world. Even without the help of a human or animal, these mushrooms are able to release their spores. All it takes is a little rain. Once a puffball has matured and the spores inside are ready to be released, a single raindrop is enough to send the spores flying.
A single puffball can have millions or even trillions of spores. Each has the potential to become a new puffball, but hardly any do. That's actually a good thing. The sheer number of spores in giant puffballs — the largest species and one of the most familiar — is almost mind-boggling.
A single giant puffball can have trillions of spores. If every one of those spores successfully grew into a new puffball, it would create a mass of mushrooms totaling 800 times the volume of Earth!
Puffballs aren't just something to marvel at. Their spores have antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial properties, and they can fight harmful bacteria as well as antibiotics.
Knowledge of their usefulness is nothing new. Many Native tribes utilized the mushrooms for their medicinal purposes, including to help heal sores and burns and stop wounds from bleeding. They were also used as a food source and as a fire starter. In some tribes, they were worn around the neck to keep evil spirits at bay.
The term puffball doesn't apply to just one kind of spherical shroom. There are dozens and dozens of puffball species. The best known of them is the giant puffball. The giant puffball is indeed large. They can grow to be up to 20 inches wide and 20 inches high. That’s larger than a soccer ball or basketball. The world-record-holding giant puffball was much larger than that, measuring 5 feet long and 4 feet wide!
Giant puffballs are often found in forests, ravines and low-lying areas, but they can grow in any grassy area. They are white in color to start but will turn brown as they age. They are most often seen between July and September.
Words to know
Decomposer: An organism that breaks down dead organic material.
Organic: Relating to or derived from living matter.
Spherical: Shaped like a sphere.
Spore: A reproductive unit capable of giving rise to a new individual.
In August 2024, the giant puffball was declared Illinois' official state mushroom in a bill signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The honor was bestowed on the giant puffball thanks to students from the Prairie School of DuPage in Wheaton. Students at the school researched, collected data and interviewed more than 100 stakeholders to determine what mushroom would be best to represent Illinois as the official state mushroom, according to a state of Illinois news release. They then held a school-wide election, with the giant puffball winning the vote.
The common puffball, also called the gem-studded puffball, is another species that is often seen. They are whitish in color, with spiny or bumpy projections on the rounded tops. These puffballs grow on the ground, either singly or in colonies. They grow to be 1 inch to 3 inches high and 1 inch to 2 1/2 inches wide.
Another puffball you might find in your adventures is the stump puffball, also called the pear-shaped puffball. These mushrooms are typically beige or light brown. They grow on dead or decaying wood, so look for them on fallen logs and branches. They often grow in clusters, each growing to be about the size of a golf ball. They start out looking like many other mushrooms, but when they mature, they are hollow. Look for a small hole on top; that's where all the spores are released from.
The purple-spored puffball and brain puffball are two larger puffball species you might come across, but they don’t get nearly as large as the giant puffball. They both grow to be about the size of a softball. The brain puffball grows in woody areas, while the purple-spored puffball prefers grassy spots. The brain puffball is beige or brown and has a textured appearance. The purple-spored puffball is also typically beige or brown, and its spores are purple.
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