Calvatia craniiformis

This large puffball can be found in open fields and scrubby woods during the late summer and early fall. Fruiting bodies are skull shaped with a stalklike sterile base which may last throughout the winter. The specimen on the left is the spore mass that remained after the skin sloughed away.

This is one of the largest of Kansas mushrooms collected for the table, and perhaps the most frequently collected puffball. There are not many other edible mushrooms you can spot from your automobile. While not the most delectable of puffballs, it does absorb flavors readily, and can be used in a variety of dishes.

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