Can be found in very large numbers but best used in mixed mushroom dishes.
Starting spherical becoming slightly flattened or club-shaped. White turning cream to brown with a powdery finish when young. Darker umbo-like top which opens to release the spores.
Pure white and soft when edible but inedible when the inside starts turning yellow then becoming brown and dusty as the spores form.
Mixed woodland, pasture, commons and heaths but always growing on old stumps or the roots of stumps underground. Can grow individually but usually in very large groups with the chance of finding more nearby.
Can be confused with very young Amanitas so the mushrooms should be sliced vertically, the stem and cap of the Amanita will be obvious.
The Earthballs from the Scleroderma family, pictured, but the tough nature of the mushroom and the dark, never pure white, interior should help avoid confusion.
Good but can be a bit ‘spongy’ in texture. Must be eaten while the flesh is still white throughout.
There are various different lycoperdons which look similar and are all edible but care should be taken to save possible confusion with Scleroderma species. Like the giant puffball the spores can be used as a stiptic so staunch blood flow or ‘puffed’ onto burns to help with the healing. The spores breathed in however can cause Lycoperdonosis, a lung disease, so care should be taken handling mature specimens.