# Holy cow! I think I'll go and welcome our new mushroom overlords now **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 3, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503 "2010-09-03T16:45:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/1 "2010-09-03T16:45:02Z")
Two mushrooms the size of soccer balls turned up in the local park. No, that was no typo. The size of _soccer balls_. A run-around on Google indicates that what we have are the aptly-named [Giant Puffballs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvatia_gigantea). Just wow. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/2 "2010-09-03T16:47:23Z")
There’s an episode of one of the River Cottage series where Hugh and his forager friend go searching for puffballs… by taking binoculars to the top of a high hill. They find one that’s like, 30" across. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/3 "2010-09-03T16:53:24Z")
Yup, that there’s a giant puffball. Imagine the brown smoke coming out of THAT puppy when you step on it! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/4 "2010-09-03T16:54:02Z")
I think this youtube video gives you a better idea of what they look like than the pics from that wikipedia page. Giant Puffball Mushroom in Oregon [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/z3bMDr-WLCs/hqdefault.jpg "Giant Puffball Mushroom in Oregon") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3bMDr-WLCs) Our new mushroom overlords indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/5 "2010-09-03T17:08:09Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > A run-around on Google indicates that what we have are the aptly-named [Giant Puffballs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvatia_gigantea). From that link: [QUOTE=Wiki] …occasionally some can reach diameters up to 150 centimetres (59 in) and weights of 20 kilograms (44 lb). [/QUOTE] Yipes. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/6 "2010-09-03T17:10:47Z")
I have a strange compulsion to kick mushrooms out of the ground. I wish I could get my foot on one of those puppies. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/7 "2010-09-03T17:19:36Z")
Someone already broke one of them, and the other was uprooted. I put it in a safer place, so maybe it will be okay. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/8 "2010-09-03T17:20:38Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I have a strange compulsion to kick mushrooms out of the ground. I wish I could get my foot on one of those puppies. Just don’t break a toe. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/9 "2010-09-03T17:21:50Z")
That’s what I was wondring are they real puffballs that poof? Or the crappy fake kind that just squoosh like wet styrofoam. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/10 "2010-09-03T17:24:45Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Someone already broke one of them, and the other was uprooted. I put it in a safer place, so maybe it will be okay. Good gad! You didn’t bring it into the house without checking for pods, did you?!? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/11 "2010-09-03T17:57:59Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > > > I have a strange compulsion to kick mushrooms out of the ground. I wish I could get my foot on one of those puppies. > > Just don’t break a toe. [That’s all I need right now](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=554290) ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/12 "2010-09-03T18:53:47Z")
They aren’t the same sort, but there are mushrooms that pop up after some damp weather on the neighbors’ side of our driveway that go from being not there, then almost a sphere on a stalk, about the size of a baseball, and then they unfurl into dinner plates on stalks. It all happens very quickly when compared with starting vegetable plants from seeds. By the second day the tops are turning brownish and they wilt away into the grass. Nature is the shiznit! ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/13 "2010-09-03T20:15:06Z")
Looks like the Mycon advance scouts are here. Well, that’s just great. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/14 "2010-09-03T23:23:05Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > That’s what I was wondring are they real puffballs that poof? Or the crappy fake kind that just squoosh like wet styrofoam. Probably one and the same. The more mature they are, the more poofy. When they first come out of the ground they are uniformly firm and white throughout. Some species are decently edible - folks like to slice them into steaks, then bread and fry them. As they mature the interior breaks down into it is full of nothing but a bazillion spores - the poofy “smoke.” ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/15 "2010-09-04T01:02:07Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Two mushrooms the size of soccer balls turned up in the local park. > > No, that was no typo. The size of _soccer balls_. > > A run-around on Google indicates that what we have are the aptly-named [Giant Puffballs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvatia_gigantea). > > Just wow. Thats nothing. The largest organism in the world (by area) is a mushroom: > **[Largest organisms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_organisms)** > > This article lists the largest organisms for various types of life and mostly considers extant species,\[a\] which found on Earth can be determined according to various aspects of an organism's size, such as: mass, volume, area, length, height, or even genome size. Some organisms group together to form a superorganism (such as ants or bees), but such are not classed as single large organisms. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest structure composed of living entities, stretching 2,000 km (1... ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/16 "2010-09-04T01:27:24Z")
I used to stomp on the ripe ones as a kid-note I am doing the 'shroom a favor by doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/17 "2010-09-04T01:41:14Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > > > I have a strange compulsion to kick mushrooms out of the ground. I wish I could get my foot on one of those puppies. > > Just don’t break a toe. Like any mushroom I am aware of, they are soft. By the time they get really large they are usually infested with tiny worms. But I once found a pristine one which I had to break in half to fit a piece of it into my day pack. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/18 "2010-09-04T03:37:24Z")
Are you sure it isn’t a blancmange? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/19 "2010-09-04T05:35:53Z")
We get giant puffballs around here in my bit of Southern England - they’re quite highly prized by fungi gourmets - as long as the flesh is white throughout, they’re good it eat. Huge slices can be dipped in egg and breadcrumbs, then fried. I’ve tried them and they’re pretty good - just big chunks of solid mushroomy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503/20 "2010-09-04T05:42:08Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Are you sure it isn’t a blancmange? Nah, one of those would be at Wimbledon, no fear of that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-cow-i-think-ill-go-and-welcome-our-new-mushroom-overlords-now/552503.md?page=2)