Gem studded puffball.
I stumbled upon two white lumps in the grass while reeling up some strands of electric fence — gem studded puffballs.
It’s been years now since I started paying attention to all the fungus activity going on around here. It was a particularly wet summer that got me started. Mushrooms were everywhere and in so many varieties that I couldn’t help but wonder about them. What kinds were they? Were any of them edible, or poisonous?
Another gem studded puffball.
I did a lot of reading, study and testing before I dared taste a wild mushroom that I, myself, had picked. I’m still careful to stick to the easily identifiable types for eating.
But I still enjoy puzzling out a new find just because I want to know.
Wild mushrooms are fragile things. They spring up over night and can be overrun with beetle larvae by midday. Some can be found in regular patches; others are far more elusive.
Mushrooms in hand.
Gem studded puffballs are considered choice picks; they are full of flavor and fragrance as opposed to simply being edible. Once in the kitchen, I discovered the smaller one was already bug infested, but the large one was perfect. Sliced thin and lightly fried in butter, it bumped supper up a notch.