There is nothing that can be confused with Calvatia gigantea, expect perhaps a soccer ball. Usually found in fields, meadows and deciduous woods. Grow up to 3 or more feet wide within a week. Produces up to 9 trillion spores!  Sometimes see them growing in fairy rings.   Eaten with butter or olive oil and fried in Panko crumbs like eggplant.  It’s sometimes used to make noodleless lasagna. 055-001

« Both Grifola frondosa and Meripilus sumsteinei grow at the base of trees and cause a white rot. Likely weakly parasitic as well as sabropic. The types of wood destroying fungi encountered by pest management professionals and homeowners fall into two basic categories: brown rot and white rot. White rot attacks the cellulose and lignin in the wood giving the wood an off-white appearance. In the later stages the wood becomes spongy to the touch. White rot typically attacks hardwoods and lacks the cubical checking appearance of brown-rotted wood. Brown rot commonly attacks softwoods turning the wood dark brown. In advanced stages of decay, wood attacked by brown rot becomes friable and splits appear across the grain giving the wood a "checkerboard" appearance. Infested wood may be structurally weakened in a relatively short period of time. Once brown rot has extracted all of the nutrients from the wood the wood may become dry and powdery. This leaves the impression that dry wood has rotted (dry rot) but in reality it is an old infestation of brown rot. G. frondosa, they can appear year after year in the same location. This polypore, however, has larger lobed caps and smaller pores than Grifola frondosa. It stains black on handling. Though often confused with Grifola frondosa, both are choice edibles. Meripilus giganteus is a European species. 054-001
EDIBLE MUSHROOMS & POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES by Dianna Smith
The puffballs are members of the artificial group called the gasteromycetes, or stomach fungi. Their spores are contained inside and are released through a tiny hole in the top by means of rain, wind, animals or insects. Other gasteromycetes include the false puffballs (Scleroderma and Pisolithus), stalked puffballs, bird’s nest fungi, earthstars, and stinkhorns. Except perhaps Calostoma, a stalked puffball, none are mycorrhizal. Lyco in Greek means ‘wolf’ Perdon means ‘ to break wind’ therefore a common name is Wolf’s fart. Pyriforme means ‘pear-shaped’ Lycoperdon perlatum grows on the ground, the other on decaying wood. Both are edible when white inside. They shouldn’t be confused with Scleroderma citrina or a death angel button. You also want to be cautious about breathing in large amounts of spores. Several years ago students from Wisconsin were told the spores were hallucinogenic. They inhaled so many that they germinated in their lungs and grew Hyphae. They were given anti-fungal drugs and their respiration returned to normal. 056-001 »