Calvatia fragilis – another edible puffball

While driving around in April, I noticed for the first time this year some rather large puffballs growing around the place.  Here is what they looked like.

puffball
Calvatia fragilis

When cut open, these revealed a firm white flesh with a pleasant mushroom smell.  They lacked a ‘sterile base’ which is the bit at the bottom close to the attachment point to the ground.  The lizard skin pattern was also distinctive.  If left undisturbed they develop a purple spore mass and break open.

Calvatia fragilis spore mass

All of these factors together led me to identify them as Calvatia fragilis, which was subsequently confirmed by DNA analysis (97% AJ684871).

The picture below shows the specimen torn open.  There is a slight yellowing when it is bruised. It has a distinct skin.

Calvatia fragilis torn open
Calvatia fragilis torn open

The next picture shows another view of the surface of the puffball.

Surface of Calvatia fragilis
Surface of Calvatia fragilis

I found something similar in March 2021 after some unseasonal rain and humidity. These were a little more aged than the first ones and the skin (peridium) had become a bit more faceted but I believe it is the same fungus. This specimen turned soft overnight.

Calvatia fragilis immediately prior to spore formation

Some people say that all white puffballs in Australia are edible.   This is not true as many years ago I found a massive white puffball growing next to a mulga tree in Hopetoun that had an extremely unpleasant smell.  When I heated some up it caused us to evacuate the kitchen!

Calvatia fragilis is edible though and I sliced this one and fried it in butter.  The taste reminded me a little of eggs.

2 Responses so far »

  1. 1

    Sunny Ape said,

    I found a patch calvatia fragilisin the juvenile stage last month and had a go at eating them. Sliced thinly and fried in butter, they had a consistency a bit like soft tofu and fresh white bread. The taste was rather bland, just like soft tofu. Oh well, nothing to get excited about.

  2. 2

    […] about a few of them. The species in Australia are  c. craniiformis,  c. lilacina, c. rugosa, c. fragilis, c. candida and the three I’m not so sure about c. gigantea, c. fusca and c. olba. As you can […]


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