'World's Ugliest Mushroom'

[flowerweaver]

With the recent rains they've been popping up everywhere. We don't see that many mushrooms in the Southwest. I had no idea what it was, so I Googled 'mushroom that looks like a turd' and sure enough, there it was...I present to you the Dog Turd Mushroom (Pisolithus tinctorius).

Apparently it's also called the Dyemaker's Puffball because when small they can be used to dye wool (what color, I haven't a clue). I know the Latin tinctorius indicates dye use. I also read it can be used as a root stimulator which could be useful, if I could bring myself to experiment with it! Supposedly it is widespread, but I have only seen them here. Have you had them in your garden?

 

[catjac1975]

Yuck.

 

[258 Pots]

When we burned our ditch last weekend I was raking field trash into it, and we have stumps along the ditch line and every time I raked the field trash off the stumps there were huge piles of mushrooms.

None looked like poop, now I'm disappointed

 

[Beekissed]

 

[seedcorn]

R they edible?

 

[journey11]

Not sure why anyone would *want* to eat it. LOL

Seems it makes a reddish-brown to black dye. Amazing the things our ancestors thought to make use of.

 

[flowerweaver]

Most things in the puffball family are edible. Probably like the Stinkhorn mushroom (which grew at my last home, looked like a neon phallus smelled like something had died) it was"edible but not recommended" LOL.

They do look better when they dissolve into a heap of spores like a pile of cinnamon.

 

[flowerweaver]

@journey11 your link is quite interesting! It appears they are false puffballs and in the same family as the stinkhorns. We have both oaks and juniper, but these are popping up in the meadows around them.

Other folks get morels and I get turds

 

[journey11]

I started to mention the stinkhorn as second runner up, but was afraid of making people blush as they googled it. We harvested a giant puffball mushroom a few years ago that resembled a rear-end. It was actually pretty good though, diced up in gravy with roast vension. The wonderful world of fungi...there are some real oddities out there.

As children we'd nearly knock each other over to be the first to stomp on a dead and dried puffball, to make the "smoke" come out. I wonder if your dog turd mushroom smokes spores when it is dry? Wouldn't hurt to spread them around. They are supposed to be mutually beneficial to the roots of many trees, from what I read.

 

[journey11]

Found the pic... That's my youngest sister, some years ago. She's 20 now and would be mortified that I've posted this pic online. LOL