short, rounded, brown; grows in clusters; exudes bluish foul smelling dust when stepped on. found in shredded wood mulch in playyard of preschool. is there possibility of harm to small children?
2006-12-21 03:25:52 · 4 answers · asked by Treva P 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Botany
I would not rely on anything that anybody tells you on here, nor indeed should you trust anything you see on any website. There are people on here who believe that man never went to the moon, Adolf Hitler was a good bloke, etc - need I say more.
If you have any doubts whatsoever, especially where small children are concerned, you should ask the advice of an expert.
Your description sounds like it could be Armillaria which is an edible fungus - but you should not take my word for it - please seek advice.
2006-12-21 03:37:34 · answer #1 · answered by the_lipsiot 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It sounds like a well matured puffball which spreads its spores by people doing just such a thing. (rain drops help a lot to
IT is not wise to inhale any fine dust, but puffballs as an group of fungi are one of the safest that an amateur can start sampling for food. As long as they are still white throughout the interior (gleba) they are edible, no matter the species, from the smallest to the Giant Puffballs (Calvatia gigantea) which can grow to sizes typical of basketballs but much, much larger on occasion., Large "steaks" cut and fried in onions with .....ahhh!. No.
In fact, mushrooms have a particularly unwarranted reputation for toxicity. Amanitacea contains the majority of deadly species and they are also easy to distinguish with practise. Once they are removed from the food basket, 99% of all poisonings are also removed, a statistic no more deadly than grazing on unknown berries and tubers of plants. Mycophobia is a peculiarity of English speaking countries only, with the children in Continental Europe and Asia told very early what mushrooms to bring home for supper if found out playing.
2006-12-25 02:12:05 · answer #2 · answered by Mycos 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like it might be a common earthball, Scleroderma citrinum. They don't have gills underneath--I took your "rounded" to mean "spherical"--which is a key feature of puffballs and earthstars; the bluish spore color puts it into the earthballs. Earthballs are poisonous and grow on rotting wood; apparently the spores are poisonous as well (second link). If there are only a few I'd remove them and when it's sunny put plastic over the mulch to solarize (heat to sterilize).
The first link is photos for you to browse, the second info on the earthball.
2006-12-21 12:12:57 · answer #3 · answered by candy2mercy 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it is some times good and some times not it depends on its type or kind
2006-12-21 11:36:00 · answer #4 · answered by the winner 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋