Monday 22 December 2014

stump puffballs

This is the first time I've ever seen stump puffballs, a species of puffball toadstools that only grows on rotting wood. The other species of puffballs all grow in the ground.

when you look closely you can see all the spores inside the fungus, just waiting to be puffed out by raindrops or the footsteps of a passing animal.

These puffballs were growing on a dead tree in Colinton Dell alongside the Water of Leith.

For Nature Notes



8 comments:

shoreacres said...

What a wonderful photo of something I haven't seen in years. When I was a kid in Iowa, we often saw puffballs, both on the ground and on stumps. It was one of our favorite games to help release the spores. Some of the could be quite big, certainly golf ball-sized, and sometimes even a little larger. But the big ones were tougher, and didn't seem to puff so nicely. At least, that's how I remember it.

TexWisGirl said...

pretty cute!

Little Miss Titch said...

I've never seen these before,xx

RG said...

Always something new to discover!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh gosh those are wonderful!! I've never seen those.

Magyar said...

Best Seasonal Wishes! _m

Laura said...

fascinating find! Wishing you much joy in this season of love.

Rambling Woods said...

I haven't seen one of those at all since I was a kid at the cabin.... Great find! Happy Holidays! Michelle