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Old 05-11-2002, 01:34 PM
Stephen Howard
 
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Default White mushrooms/toadstools in lawn

On Tue, 5 Nov 2002 09:46:38 +0000 (UTC), Lynda Thornton
wrote:


Just a note to say that there are quite a few more - looks like the
whole lawn is being taken over! If they're poisonous I might get rid of
them, the lawn needs mowing anyway ...
Lynda


You're too late!

The bits of the fungi you can see are the last knockings of the
reproductive cycle - these things can pop up overnight and deliver a
payload of millions of spores before you've had time to dig out the
plastic Scooby Doo toy from your cornflakes.

In any event, the air this time of year is awash with fungal spores -
and it just so happens that one little spot in your garden suits the
fungus that is now thriving there.
You could eradicate it with a fungicide, but that doesn't mean it
won't come back again in a year or so.
Mowing the lawn is a good idea...from the fungi's point of view -
spores will get flung all over the place!

There aren't too many drawbacks to having fungi growing on your lawn -
if your turf is pristine you may notice a dark ring of green that
corresponds to the current diameter of the 'fairy ring' - but that's
nature's way of telling you you're confusing your lawn with your
living room carpet!

The only other issue is that of their being perhaps poisonous.
Well, we all seem to survive Yew, Belladonna, Monkshood, Foxglove,
green potatoes et al simply because someone once told us not to monkey
about with them.
And so it is with fungi.

The number of truly lethal species is really rather small, and deaths
from ingestion are typically confined to ( frankly ) bloody fools who
treat the forest floor like the fresh veg racks in Sainsburys and
assume everything that looks tasty is edible.

My garden and children happily coexist with a rather poisonous species
of fungi ( one of the Inocybes ). I have shown them how to recognise
it ( the orangey-red cone-shaped head is a giveaway ) and made them
aware of its potential to harm...whilst also explaining that it won't
jump up and grab them, nor will they die if they touch it.
In fact, they seem to rather enjoy competing at being the first to
spot one each year.
I'm also fortunate to have field mushrooms growing in the garden too -
but the slugs/snails/deer/rabbits/furtive chefs(?) beat me to 'em
every time.

So spare a thought for the much-misaligned toadstool at this time of
year ( and I exclude the Honey Fungus by virtue of the damage it can
cause to your trees and shrubs ). treat it as you would any of our
indigenous 'nasties' and enjoy its strange beauty while it lasts.

Better still, buy a decent fungi book - and keep it on the shelf in
the study...er..loo.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk