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Weird Animal Names: Lycoperdon LbNA #30806

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:May 10, 2007
Location:
City:Liberty Lake
County:Spokane
State:Washington
Boxes:1
Planted by:The Fat Lady
Found by: SnowFire
Last found:Jun 17, 2012
Status:FFFFFFFF
Last edited:May 10, 2007
Okay, so this weird taxonomical name is for a mushroom, but it does involve an animal as part of its nomenclature. You’ve seen puffballs in the woods, probably stepped on any number of over-ripe ones and released that smoke-like cloud of spores. Kids, especially, seem to enjoy stomping puffballs, and now you can share with the rugrats an interesting factoid: The Latin name for “puffball” is Lycoperdon, and translates literally as “wolf fart.” This is not a term the Fat Lady can pronounce out loud, but she seems to have survived typing it on a keyboard.

Puffballs in their younger phase are edible, and are really quite delicious. The Fat Lady’s mother used to adore slicing them, sautéing them in butter, and then making them into a sandwich with mayo and bread. Cooked, they are spongy in texture, not firm to the bite like the common white mushrooms in supermarkets.

A puffball is edible when it first erupts from the ground. If you pick one, slice it down through the middle, and find it is entirely white inside, you can rush it home and cook it up. If the middle has begun to discolor, it is already on the way to its spore stage, and you should toss it away. After picking, a puffball will begin to discolor extremely soon, and should be used within an hour or so. Because it will absorb water, you should plan not to wash it, and instead cut off and brush away any dirt while you are in the field, then take it home already cleaned this way.

[Please note that the above mushrooming advice is for entertainment purposes only, and the Fat Lady cannot be responsible for the consequences of anyone’s use or misuse of wild fungi.]

So. The letterbox. The last place The Fat Lady saw a puffball was at Liberty Lake County Park, so that’s where we’re going, albeit to a less-traveled area. From I-90, take exit 296 and head east on Appleway Avenue. Turn right on Molter Road, then left on Valleyway Avenue. Valleyway becomes Lakeside Road which, after about 2.4 miles from Molter Road, cuts to the right (straight ahead is Idaho Road.) Follow Lakeside, which is now gravel, another .4 mile and turn right through large green gates.

This circular area is parking for the horse trail into the park, and in the center is probably a refuse pile where people-who-must-needs-be-slapped have dumped their garbage. Try not to let this ruin the boxing excursion for you; it’s the one thing that nearly made The Fat Lady pass up this spot for a box.

Directly across the circle from the gate, a small footpath leads uphill. Take it to the top, where you will find an old (and illegal) campfire. The Lycoperdon letterbox lies deep under the western side of the ancient boulder due west of the fire circle.

[Further important note: Although The Fat Lady knows nothing about snakes, she thinks that if SHE were a snake, she would love the underside of this boulder, gaseous wolf emissions notwithstanding. Do take all appropriate snake-avoidance precautions]