Skandi Rogers wrote:The first one is a puffball It was edible when you first saw it. There are many types and they can get as big as a beach ball.
I didn't realize puffballs could have stalks. Or am I thinking that big one has a stalk and it's just the way the picture was taken?
I ordered spores last year for Calvatia gigantea, the giant puffball, and had two come up in the lawn that same year. They do form the dark smoky brown spores that explode when you whack 'em. (We used to love doing that when we were kids.) I can't remember which time of year this was, but I haven't seen any this year. I do hope they come back, because I love them fried in butter.