Sharon Woyce. age 10. of Owen Sow. Ontario; Canada. for her question:

Where do puff balls come from?

A round puff ball is a plant. It is a relative of the mushroom and the giant of the fungi plant family. True' it does not look much like a plant. It is not green and it has no leaves. But. like most plants. it starts each new generation with a batch of seeds. The seeds of the puff ball are minute grains of dust called spores.

If you kick a puff ball at just the right time. you can see these spores for yourself. They will come streaming out into the air in misty clouds. In fact. that is how the puff ball got its name. Its seeds puff out of the big round buff colored ball in a cloud.

Millions and millions of these tiny spores are set adrift in the air. Some will be carries for miles. Only a few will come to rest in the right kind of rich loamy soil. Maybe only one or two of these spores will be lucky enough to grow into puff balls. And they may start life miles and miles away from the parent puff ball.