Many people out there enjoy puff ball mushrooms for the fact that you can squeeze them and push out spores.
For instance this user Imants Berzins on Youtube shows how fun and delightful it could be in slow motion;
However, caution should be taken to not breathe in the spores. As it turns out, fungi spores in your respiratory track or system isn’t good. In some instances, there have been reports and studies on Puffball spores causing Lycoperdonosis, which is a respiratory Disease from inhaling large amounts of Lycoperdon spores from a Lycoperdon Puff Ball fungi.
I’ve read somewhere online that one puffball mushroom can release somewhere in the range of 7 million spores, not a good idea to breath that in.
Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including Calvatia, Calbovista and Lycoperdon.
In Traditional cultures, tribal and native, Puff ball mushrooms were used for all sorts of medicines to include wound care.
For instance, The Lakota tribe of Native Americans used this clean dry material in their medicine. They would pack large wounds with puffball spores to slow bleeding and help blood clot. The dried spores can slow bleeding if they’re used as a coagulant. They were reportedly used to treat bleeding and prevent infection. – Source
Scientific studies have also found that Puffball mushrooms are antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial. They fight Staphylococcus aureus (the cause of staph infections), Salmonella typhimurium and E. coli at least as effectively as modern antibiotics do. – Source
You might even ask yourself, How are fungi spores antifungal? Well, as it turns out, fungi are similar to bacteria, in the sense that they don’t always play well with their kind. If you were to look at any culture or colony of fungi or bacteria, you’ll find that they often fight other fungi and bacteria. Survival of the fittest with micro-organisms. It is to note that some fungi and bacteria work well with other fungi and bacteria, to create Obligate Symbionts – meaning they help eachother out.
To Recap;
Do have fun in nature, step on a few puffballs if you want, just don’t inhale them.
And Puffballs, like other fungi and bacteria, can help if they’re in the right place, but also can hurt if there’s too much or if they’re in the wrong place (like your lungs).
