CBS 2 political producer Ed Marshall sent this heads up on a Mushroom of the Week. His son Geoffrey, 24, spotted the giant puffball last week along the McCormick Boulevard bike path, which runs along the North Shore Channel.
By the way for size comparison, Geoff stands 6-feet-4 and a half and has a huge head,” Marshall emailed. “Geoff said he noted the puffball had been stepped on and believes the mushroom could have grown even larger had it not been damaged. As far as eating he decided that because the puffball grew along a sewage canal he wouldn’t harvest it for eating.
Geoff has located other puffballs in Evanston which he brought home, prepared and shared with his family for eating.
I thought it worth showing that photo in its full glory.
MOTW, the celebration of mushrooms and their stories around Chicago outdoors, runs as warranted on the Sun-Times’ outdoors page. Submit nominations on Facebook (Dale Bowman), on Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or email(straycasts@sbcglobal.net).
And one final size comparison below.
Puffball in Evanston with Geoffrey Marshall using his hand to give a size comparison. | Provided by Ed Marshall
