From: ilana@kiowa.scd.ucar.edu (Ilana Stern)
Subject: Re: Identify this strange toadstool
Organization: NCAR/UCAR
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 23:15:46 GMT

In article <BxvDF2.H4v@watserv2.uwaterloo.ca>, bobw@csg.uwaterloo.ca (Bob Wildfong) writes:
>I wonder if any mycologists out there can identify the weird growths which
>have appeared on the lawns on my street.  I've seen toadstools before, but
>these specimens are truly bizarre.
>
>They're generally white, but sometimes with a few brown specks near the bottom,
>height ranging from 3 feet to over 6 feet, with a roughly conical shape, 
>sometimes reminiscent of two or three large spheres stacked one on top of the
>other.
>
Ah, yes.  The Calvatia Frosteus, commonly known as the Snowman Mushroom
(not to be confused with the Snow Mushroom, which is a Gyromitra, I
believe).  A distant relative of the Giant Puffball (Calvatia Gigantica),
it distributes its spores in a similar way;  while the Puffball dries
out and then explodes, sending spores everywhere, the Frosteus (or
"Frosty") requires an outside agent, such as a child, to pick up a young
specimen and throw it at an object, such as another child.  The mushroom
explodes on impact, distributing its spores.

>They seem to require cold weather to grow, since they always appear immediately
>after the first snowfall and they grow amazingly quickly, often within a few
>hours.

Yes, this is true;  in fact, in warmer weather they undergo a self-digestion
process similar to that of the Coprinus (Inky Caps, Shaggy Manes, etc),
sometimes completely disappearing within the space of a few hours.  Where
the Coprinus mushrooms turn to a black, ink-like fluid, the Frosteus 
turns to a clear, water-like fluid.

> I've seen the neighbourhood children playing with these monstrous toadstools,
> putting hats and scarves on them and decorating their surfaces with buttons,
> twigs and other scraps to make them look like towering, white, bloated people.
> I do hope, for the childrens' sake that they're not poisonous.
> 
> Please, if anyone can help me identify this species, if would put my mind
> at rest.  I'm particularly interested in their growth habits.  Are they
> detrimental to the lawn?  If not, I'd appreciate any hints on how to encourage
> them to grow in my yard, too.  They have a kind of, I don't know, charm about
> them when they're dressed up like that.

Oh, they're not poisonous, nor are they detrimental to your lawn.  Calvatia
Frosteus is edible when raw, but because of the self-digestion process 
mentioned before, it cannot be cooked as they dissolve into clear fluid.  The 
flavor is preferred by children, but most adults find them somewhat 
bland and watery.  (Don't eat yellow specimens!)  

To encourage them to grow in your yard, remember that the spores are most
easily spread by children, as I mentioned earlier.  Encourage children
to come play on your snow-covered lawn;  if their mittens are covered with 
Frosteus spores, you may soon find a Calvatia Frosteus in your own yard!

-- 
/\     There may be honor among thieves, but there's none among politicians.
  \_][ <--NCAR Ilana Stern dod#009 r.b. cliff swallow ilana@ncar.ucar.edu    
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