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Mushrooms popping after recent rain
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| If you glance out your door and think someone has dropped stuff in your yard, it might just be mushrooms. |
By CYNTHIA LESCALLEET
Last week’s rains (literally) beget this week’s cropping of mushrooms.
It’s as simple as that, Nature Discovery Center experts said, discretely alluding to mushroom reproduction practices.
The spores above ground are the fruiting body of the fungus threads underground that only need the right, as in moist, conditions to appear, said Eric Duncan, a NDC staff naturalist.
Since summer was dry until recently, mushrooms are popping up now in local lawns.
It’s best to just leave them alone, Duncan said. They’re doing their job in breaking down decaying debris in the soil and supporting whatever ecosystem they’re in.
Some species, for example, tie themselves into other plant root systems to help them absorb minerals.
Not all mushroom crops are linear. The ones that appear in ever larger circles do so because the mushroom spores represent the outer edge of the debris the fungus has fed upon. The circle must grow since the feeding must continue.
So, it’s not really the fairy ring children have been led to believe.
There’s another reason to leave mushrooms alone, Duncan said. Unless you’re an expert, you can’t tell which ones are poisonous. Some found locally are toxic to everyone and some cause reactions based on an individual’s body chemistry.
Most are hard to identify, he said, and a field guide is not enough. If you’re really interested in learning which mushrooms are try a mycologist: For further information, visit the Texas Mycological Society at www.texasmushrooms.org.
It’s as simple as that, Nature Discovery Center experts said, discretely alluding to mushroom reproduction practices.
The spores above ground are the fruiting body of the fungus threads underground that only need the right, as in moist, conditions to appear, said Eric Duncan, a NDC staff naturalist.
Since summer was dry until recently, mushrooms are popping up now in local lawns.
It’s best to just leave them alone, Duncan said. They’re doing their job in breaking down decaying debris in the soil and supporting whatever ecosystem they’re in.
Some species, for example, tie themselves into other plant root systems to help them absorb minerals.
Not all mushroom crops are linear. The ones that appear in ever larger circles do so because the mushroom spores represent the outer edge of the debris the fungus has fed upon. The circle must grow since the feeding must continue.
So, it’s not really the fairy ring children have been led to believe.
There’s another reason to leave mushrooms alone, Duncan said. Unless you’re an expert, you can’t tell which ones are poisonous. Some found locally are toxic to everyone and some cause reactions based on an individual’s body chemistry.
Most are hard to identify, he said, and a field guide is not enough. If you’re really interested in learning which mushrooms are try a mycologist: For further information, visit the Texas Mycological Society at www.texasmushrooms.org.
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