Rare, Giant 'Puffball' Mushroom Discovered in Rochester Hills

The Key family of Rochester Hills was a bit startled when they saw a strange, lunar looking item in their front yard Sunday morning. The “thing” turned out to be Calvatia Gigantea or a giant mushroom.

 “None of us had ever seen or even heard of such a thing,” Glenn Key said.

 “I felt like I had to pick it up to inspect it because it was so strange; now I wish I didn’t because it could have grown to be even larger,” Key said.

 The mushroom is believed to be what is commonly called a “giant puffball” or “the puffball mushroom.” It is about the size of a basketball and this one weighs in at two and one half pounds.

 “It kind of feels like a big, water-saturated Nerf Ball.  We learned that these can be found in early autumn across a wide expanse of the U.S., but they must be quite rare. My brother is a retired wildlife biologist and he was completely unaware of them,” Key explained.

 While the huge mushroom might fit the bill for a few dozen omelets (it apparently is edible), the Keys made no plans to carve it up for breakfast.