Giant+Puffball

//**Calvatia gigantean**//



What’s bigger than a golf ball and smaller than a watermelon? What is bigger than a shoe but shorter than a boot? What is neither white or yellow and is a color in between? What is edible but also may be disgusting? If you are wondering what this organism is you will have to read the next two paragraphs to find out what. One of the six kingdoms is Fungi. Although Fungi may sound gruesome, we eat many types of fungi, such as mushrooms and yeast. Another Fungus we might eat is called //Calvatia gigantean.// You can also call //Calvatia gigantean// a Giant Puffball. The Giant Puffball are the largest of all fungi and may be the most facinating fungi in history.

Giant Puffballs are a form of Fungi. They are multicellular and eukaryotic organisms. They can be round or pear shaped and can size from a size of a golf ball to a watermelon! The giant puffball absorbs nutrients from its surroundings. //Calvatia gigantean// can range from 2 feet long and can contain up to 7 trillion spores. Unlike other puffballs, The Giant Puffball has a big crack which allows the wind to carry away its spores. The spores have helped many active Americans. It was used for the medicine and prevented bleeding and blood clots and some Native Americans used a fine powder of a Giant Puffball as medicine. It is also edible in some cases. The Giant Puffball is important to us and has been for many generations and many more to come. Andrew, Paul, Gabby, Mithali Period 3