the.com/puffball
the mushroom that grew up, packed its spores into a smoke bomb, and waits to be poked
means A round, stalkless fungus that, when mature, releases a cloud of fine brown spores through a hole or tear when squeezed or struck.
from A plain English compound, joining "puff" — the soft burst of air or smoke — with "ball," for its rounded shape. "Puff" is old and imitative, echoing the very sound of a quick breath; the word likely arose from watching the mushroom do exactly what its name describes. Earlier English knew it by other names too (the dialect "puckfist" among them), but "puffball" won out by being honest about the smoke.
- spore count
- giant puffballs can release seven trillion spores
- if all survived
- offspring would outweigh the Earth
- edible window
- only while flesh stays pure white inside
- old medicine
- once used to staunch wounds and stop bleeding
- size record
- largest found over five feet across
giant puffball — calvatia gigantea, can reach 3 feet in diameter and weigh up to 40 pounds
devil's ink pot — phallus indusiatus, dark purple puffball fungus found in southeast asia
meadow puffball — lycoperdon pratense, common white puffball native to north american grasslands