Giant puffball © Dr Malcolm Storey
Giant puffball
Scientific name: Calvatia gigantea
This football-sized fungus can be seen in autumn, sometimes growing on grass verges.
Species information
Category
Statistics
Width: typically 10-80cmConservation status
Not threatened
When to see
July to NovemberAbout
The giant puffball is a large fungus, often around the size of a football. It grows on grass verges, field and woodland edges, and amongst rank vegetation. Giant puffballs are saprotrophic, which means they feed on dead organic matter - an important recycling service for decaying plants and other detritus. They usually grow in small clusters, but sometimes form 'fairy rings'. A single giant puffball can produce trillions of spores. They escape through tears in the leathery skin, dispersing on the wind.How to identify
A very large, often roughly spherical white fungus, with thick leathery skin. The skin becomes browner as it ages. It tends to be around the size of a football, but can grow much larger.Distribution
Widespread but localised.Habitats
Did you know?
There's a report from 1877 of a giant puffball that measured 1.63m long, 1.37m wide and 0.24m tall!
Bertie Gregory/2020VISION