MannyE and GreenLarry, All puff balls are edible in their early growth. Nearly every time I see a little white fresh puff ball I just eat them right then. Sometimes I peel off the outer skin, sometimes I don't. GreenLarry, I went to the "ask Jeeves" web site and asked if the spores are harmful. Here is the answer, "The spores prove very irritating to the nose and eyes if blown into the face when dry and powdery." My personal interpretation is that the spores are harmless when you step on the puff balls. Lots of powdery substances would prove to be irritating if blown into the nose and eyes. Probably especially so if the person has allergies. I am including the website where I got my info. (The web site is on http://botanical.com/ On their home page, find their search window and type in puff ball.) Or go to this very, very, long URL, and 3/4 of the way through the article you will find info about puff balls. http://web.ask.com/redir?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftm.wc.ask.com%2Fr%3Ft%3Dan%26s%3Da%26sv%3Dza5cb0dc2%26uid%3D0A86A77322605C924%26sid%3D1E8DE77322605C924%26o%3D0%26qid%3D6B44B7C25AA44643B127B17B430838FA%26io%3D0%26ask%3DAre%2Bpuff%2Bball%2Bspores%2Bharmful%253f%26uip%3D45b2189b%26en%3Dte%26eo%3D-100%26pt%3Dbotanical.com%2520-%2520A%2520Modern%2520Herbal%2520%257C%2520Fungi%2520-%2520Herb%2520Profile%2520and%26ac%3D24%26qs%3D0%26pg%3D1%26ep%3D1%26te_par%3D235%26te_id%3D%26u%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.botanical.com%252fbotanical%252fmgmh%252ff%252ffungi-37.html&bpg=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.ask.com%2Fweb%3Fq%3DAre%2Bpuff%2Bball%2Bspores%2Bharmful%253f%26o%3D0%26page%3D1&q=Are%20puff%20ball%20spores%20harmful?&s=a&bu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.botanical.com%2fbotanical%2fmgmh%2ff%2ffungi-37.html&qte=0amp;o=0amp;abs=...free%20plants%20are%20not%20harmful.%20...%20when%20ripe%20discharge%20their%20dust-like%20spores%20from%20openings%20in%20the%20top%20of%20the%20peridium.%20In%20the%20GIANT%20PUFF-BALL%20(L...&tit=botanical.com%20-%20A%20Modern%20Herbal%20%7C%20Fungi%20-%20Herb%20Profile%20and&bin=&cat=wb&purl=http%3A%2F%2Ftm.wc.ask.com%2Fi%2Fb.html%3Ft%3Dan%26s%3Da%26uid%3D0A86A77322605C924%26sid%3D1E8DE77322605C924%26qid%3D6B44B7C25AA44643B127B17B430838FA%26io%3D%26sv%3Dza5cb0dc2%26o%3D0%26ask%3DAre%2Bpuff%2Bball%2Bspores%2Bharmful%253f%26uip%3D45b2189b%26en%3Dbm%26eo%3D-100%26pt%3D%26ac%3D24%26qs%3D0%26pg%3D1%26u%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fmyjeeves.ask.com%2Faction%2Fsnip&Complete=1

SAM, The process of stabilizing an F1 hybrid is called dehybridization. Basically, you grow a lot of seeds from the hybrid and select only the one or the few that most resemble the original hybrid and repeat that process. Dehybridization involves growing and discarding a lot of seedlings, so it is best done if you have a lot of growing space. I plan to dehybridize a few of my very best zinnia hybrids, which are hybrids between hybrids. In order to get a large number of seeds from my selected hybrid, I plan to multiply it by cuttings to get a number of clones to produce a large original seed crop. If necessary, I will repeat that process in successive stages of the dehybridization. There is a lot of information in cyberspace on the subject of dehybridization. MM

You would think a thread about dead man's fingers would be allowed to die, but I had to add a last update. The remnants of last year's fruiting bodies are just visible in this pic and there is the emergence of this years fruiting bodies. So things have come full circle and, like a relay race, there is no lost connection between what was and what's next. tj Edit:Note to Photobucket users- evidently sometimes when PB shows it re-oriented your pix 90 degrees you may have to re-save them to get them to take. This post was edited by tsugajunkie on Mon, Jun 17, 13 at 22:56

Only if the roots are kept too wet or too hot..