What is this?

13 Comments

1. chironomo says:

   4 September 2009 at 1:36 PM

   It would appear to be a Giant Puffball or one of it’s related brethren. Can’t tell from the picture how big it is though… the edible varieties are AT LEAST 4-6 inches in diameter with a SOLID homogenous interior flesh. There are fine details about the individual specimen that would have to be known (surface patterns / stem shape/ coloration) to identify the specific variety. Of course, never eat any wild specimen until it has benn positively identified. I don’t know where you live, but if you haven’t already gotten a good resource book for your local area, go to your local whole foods or natural foods store and ask. I’m sure you are well aware that non-edible varieties are often toxic.
2. robtbrown says:

   4 September 2009 at 2:01 PM

   I’m sure you are well aware that non-edible varieties are often toxic.
   Comment by chironomo

   And that’s the reason they’re non-edible.
3. Jackie L says:

   4 September 2009 at 2:14 PM

   Just heard about a website that will help you id anything: http://idthis.org/
4. albizzi says:

   4 September 2009 at 3:48 PM

   In French we call this mushroom by the delicious name of “Vesse-de-loup” (wolf’s fart).
   Those we have in France aren’t toxic. I use to nibble one when I found one when walking.
   But in my opinion it’s not well appreciated in French gastronomy
5. rwprof says:

   4 September 2009 at 4:42 PM

   Well father, after moving to Pennsylvania, I discovered that it is the mushroom capital of the US. Supermarkets carry mushrooms nobody has ever heard of. One is the pom-pom mushroom, called that because yes, it looks like a pom-pom, and feels like it too (fuzzy all over). It’s rather unsettling.

   I agree with your other commenter. It looks like a puffball.
6. ThomasL says:

   4 September 2009 at 6:57 PM

   Just checking in from the mushroom capital of the world.
7. Melody says:

   4 September 2009 at 9:06 PM

   I’ve a bit of mushroom fascination myself after shopping more regularly at a Japanese market. Try Bunashimeji mushrooms. They are bitter when raw, but taste delicious sauteed in olive oil.

   Ironically, the reason I began shopping at this market, which is some distance from my house, more often is because it is near a parish that has a 12:30 TLM.
8. Federico says:

   4 September 2009 at 9:36 PM

   For a fascinating tour on the internet, don’t miss: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progetto:Forme_di_vita/Funghi

   Also…check out picture: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langermannia_gigantea

   To quote Luke Skywalker: “Look at the size of that thing!”
9. MargaretMN says:

   4 September 2009 at 11:13 PM

   Looks like a puffball to me. The damp cool weather has brought a number of strange mushrooms in our garden. The weirdest looking one is the common stinkhorn, which I will say strongly resembles its latin name, which I will not mention lest I offend somebody.
10. chironomo says:

    5 September 2009 at 7:06 AM

    I’m sure you are well aware that non-edible varieties are often toxic.
    Comment by chironomo

    And that’s the reason they’re non-edible.
    Comment by RobtBrown

    Ha Ha…alright that was pretty funny. I meant that rather than just not being good to eat, they are truly toxic, i.e- often fatal if eaten.
11. albizzi says:

    5 September 2009 at 8:36 AM

    MargaretMN,
    I guess to know which mushroom you are speaking of and I dare to write its name: “Phallus impudicus”.
    This name is the exact description of this odd mushroom. Moreover it stinks much.
12. Girgadis says:

    5 September 2009 at 9:47 AM

    To be precise, Kennett Square PA is the mushroom capital of the world. It’s smack in the middle of Chester County horse country which is great for the horse owners as well as the mushroom growers. One man’s manure pile is another man’s mushroom fertilizer, or something like that. My favorite mushroom name is the Amanita phalloides, probably the most poisonous of all mushrooms. As I recall from microbiology too many years ago, this mushroom isn’t called the angel of death for nothing. I think I’ll just stick to dried porcinis imported from Italy.
13. PatrickV says:

    5 September 2009 at 10:10 AM

    Looks a lot like a puffball of some sort. I hope that you do not attempt to turn it into part of the dinner menu without proper vetting.

    Where I come from there were a lot of families of an Eastern European background. Almost all of the loved wild mushrooms and hunting for them.

    Of course, they had plenty of stories about folks who made a mistake about identifying one or more pieces of the harvest.

    That’s why I subscribe to Girgadis sentiments about dried porcini.

Comments are closed.