The Giant Puff Ball - Specimen details
| Catalogue Number: 37637 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Image | Plant Name | NONE Lycoperdon gigantea | Entry Book Number | ||
| Artefact Name | The Giant Puff Ball | Vernacular Name | |||
| Iso Country | United Kingdom | TDWG Region | United Kingdom | ||
| Parts Held | The Giant Puff Ball | Geography Description | Great Britain, Berwickshire | ||
| Uses | The Giant Puff BallUse: SOCIAL USES - Smoking Materials/Drugs User: Man | TDWG use | SOCIAL USES - Smoking Materials/Drugs | ||
| Storage | Bottles etc, outsize | Related Items | |||
| Donor | Donor No | ||||
| Donor Date | Donor Notes | ||||
| Collector | Fogarty Matthew | Collector No | |||
| Collection Notes | Collection Date | 09/03/1980 | |||
| Exhibition | Expedition | ||||
| Number Components | Publication | ||||
| Notes: | Label source: The giant puff ball is found in fields, woods and gardens, and will sometimes grow to an enormous size. It has been calculated that one large specimen can produce over 7 billion spores. When young, the flesh is white and very tender and is, delicious to eat cut in slices and fried in egg and breadcrumbs; it should not however be eaten once the the flesh has started to turn brown. In the past mature puffballs were used to smoke out bees and to staunch bleeding. This specimen was found by Matt, hew Fogarty (aged 10) in Berwickshire on 9th march 1980 and was shown on the BBC programme 'The Record Breakers' last November. It measures 64ins in circumference and 16 1/4in high and is believed to be the largest specimen collected in Britain so far. | ||||