PUFFBALLS (LYCOPERDON spp. and CALVATIA spp.)

PUFFBALLS (LYCOPERDON spp. and CALVATIA spp.)

Description: Depending on their size, puffballs have been mistaken at a distance for everything from golf balls to sheep.

These round or pear-shaped mushrooms are almost always whitish, tan or gray and may or may not have a stalk-like base. The interior of a puffball is solid white at first, gradually turning yellow, then brown as the mushroom ages. Finally, the interior changes to a mass of dark, powdery spores, Size: 1" to 12" in diameter, sometimes larger.

When and Where: Late summer and fall; in lawns, open woods, pastures, barren areas. On soil or decaying wood.

Cautions: Each puffball should be sliced from top to bottom and the interior examined. It should be completely white and featureless inside, like a slice of white bread. There should be no trace of yellow or brown (which will spoil the flavor) and especially no sign of a developing mushroom with a stalk, gills and cap (see Poisonous Mushrooms). Amanitas, when young, can resemble small puffballs, but cutting them open will quickly resolve the question.

Cooking Hints: Remove outer skin if it is tough, then slice, dip in batter and fry.

Agaricus campestris

Edible Mushrooms....

Agaricus campestris


It is widely collected and edible mushroom, even by those who would not normally experiment with mushrooming. This mushroom is not commercially cultivated on account of its fast maturing and short shelf-life.Culinary uses of the meadow mushroom include sauteed or fried, in sauces, or even sliced raw and used in salads. In flavor and texture, this mushroom is almost completely identical to the white button mushrooms available in grocery stores in the United
States. Be sure to rinse well to dislodge any sand, and also watch out for small, white larvae which tunnel through the stems and caps.

Among the Similar Species mentioned below, there have been cases where the deadly toxic Destroying Angel mushroom (Amanita bisporiga) has been consumed by individuals who mistook them for this species.
Edible Mushrooms..
puffballs-lycoperdon-spp-and-calvatia.

Agaricus Bisporus

Agaricus bisporus,as edible mushrooms also known as table mushroom, portobello mushroom, cultivated mushroom or button mushroom, is an edible basidiomycete fungus which naturally occurs in grasslands, fields and meadows across Europe and North America, though has spread much more widely and is one of the most widely cultivated mushrooms in the world. The original wild form bore a brownish cap and dark brown gills but more familiar is the current variant with a white form with white cap, stalk and flesh and brown gills.

Some grocery stores in the Western world sell this mushroom in canned and fresh preparations. An agaric, its gills are often left on in preparations. It can be found cooked on pizzas and casseroles, stuffed mushrooms, raw on salads, and in various forms in a variety of dishes. Some mycologists, including Paul Stamets, have raised concerns that this mushroom contains trace quantities of a chemical agaritine known to have carcinogenic properties, though whether
levels are sufficient to cause harm in consumers is debated.
Edible Mushrooms..
agaricus-campestris.

History of Edible Mushrooms

History of Edible Mushrooms

Mycophagy the act of consuming mushrooms, dates to ancient times. Edible mushroom species have been found in association with 13,000 year old ruins in Chile, but the first reliable evidence of edible mushroom consumption dates to several hundred years BC in China. The Chinese value mushrooms for medicinal properties as well as for food.
Ancient Romans and Greeks ate mushrooms, particularly the wealthier classes. The Roman Caesars would have a food taster taste the mushrooms before the Caesar to make sure they were safe. Mushrooms are also easily preserved, and historically have provided additional
nutrition over winter.

Many prehistoric and a few modern cultures around the world used psychedelic mushrooms for ritualistic purposes . Mushroom cultivation reached the United States in the late 1800s with imported spores from Mexico.
agaricus-bisporus.

Poisonous Mushrooms in Northeastern North America

It is important to know that there are at least 10 reasons why people get sick from eating EDIBLE mushrooms:

1. Too many mushrooms are eaten – mushrooms are hard to digest; chewing well is advised.
2. Mushrooms are eaten raw or undercooked.
3. Too much butter is used in cooking the mushrooms.
4. Alcohol sometimes causes an adverse reaction when eating mushrooms.
5. The mushrooms are not in good condition; they are in some state of decomposition.
6. Some poisonous mushrooms are inadvertently mixed in with the edibles.
7. A personal allergy can cause anything from GI distress to a rash.
8. A prescription drug (MAO inhibitor) can cause a reaction with particular mushrooms, such as polypores.
9. Edible mushrooms that are badly canned can cause botulism.
10. A GI reaction (cramps, diarrhea) or nausea may occur after a meal, not related to the mushrooms eaten. A pre-existing virus may cause this.

There is also the Fear Factor. Someone may be eating wild mushrooms at your table for the first time ever, and be petrified, and become, or imagine becoming, ill because of stress.

Mushrooms known to cause death in Northeastern North America:
1. Amanita virosa AG 551
2. Amanita phalloides AG 543
3. Galerina autumnalis AG 620
4. Lepiota josserandii AG 517
5. Gyromitra esculenta AG 336

Because of the very real possibility of misidentification (for whatever reason) and the very real consequences of severe mushroom poisoning, the following is advised:

Do not eat any Amanitas even though some are known to be edible.
Do not eat any LBM (Little Brown Mushroom).
Do not eat any small species of Lepiota.
Do not eat any large Lepiota without first finding out its spore color. Definitely avoid the green-spored Lepiota, Chlorophyllum molybdites -- it will make you seriously ill.
Do not eat any Gyromitra (False Morel), at least not when found east of the Mississippi River.
Do not eat Jack O'Lantern, Omphalotus olearius, mistakenly thinking it is a chanterelle. --
Always keep a fresh specimen in the refrigerator, in case identification is needed for treatment.

Mushrooms to be avoided because a few species in Europe have caused kidney failure and the toxins are found throughout the genus:
Cortinarius, all species -- AG 610ff.

Mushrooms known to cause muscarine-like symptoms [profuse sweating, tunnel vision] in Northeastern North America:
1. Clitocybe dealbata AG 745 --
2. Inocybe, all species AG 626ff. --

Mushrooms known to cause a reaction when alcohol has been consumed up to 72 hours after eating the mushroom:
1. Coprinus atramentarius AG 596
2. Clitocybe clavipes AG 745

Mushroom known to cause disorientation, GI symptoms, muscarine-like symptoms:
Amanita muscaria AG 538

Mushrooms known to cause transient hallucinations:
1. Psilocybe caerulipes, and other blue-staining species of Psilocybe AG 719
2. Gymnopilus spectabilis AG 623

Mushrooms known or suspected to cause mild to severe GI distress:
Gilled Mushrooms:
1. Agaricus meleagris AG 507
2. Amanita gemmata (= A. crenulata) AG 537
3. Armillaria mellea AG 736
4. Chlorophyllum molybdites AG 509
5. Entoloma, many species
6. Hebeloma, all species suspected
7. Lactarius, many species
8. Lepiota naucina AG 519
9. Naematoloma (= Hypholoma) fasciculare AG 709
10. Omphalotus olearius AG 787
11. Paxillus involutus AG 671
12. Russula, several species
13. Tricholoma, several species
14. Tricholomopsis platyphylla AG 807

Boletes:
1. Boletus huronensis (in Bessette, North American Boletes)
2. Boletus (= Chalciporus) piperatus AG 571
3. Boletus sensibilis AG 567
4. Boletus, some species with red pore-mouths
5. Suillus luteus (can be laxative) AG 586
6. Tylopilus eximius AG 592

Other Mushrooms:
1. Morels eaten raw AG 326
2. Gomphus floccosus AG 396
3. Ramaria formosa and possibly other coral fungi AG 408
4. Scleroderma citrinum AG 839
5. Calvatia gigantea, occasionally reported. AG 823

black-truffle-tuber-melanosporum.