Hi all

Er indoors has spotted what looks like strange fungal outbreak in one of our
borders!
There is nothing planted in the border, and the growth looks just like
numerous orange petals laid on the soil surface.
Each "petal" is between 6mm and 10mm across.
The location is East Yorks in a sheltered(ish) spot.
The only source I can think of is unrotted kitchen compost being buried
under this border 18 months - 2 years ago.
Any suggestions on what this is?
Tried searching the pics on UK Fungus site with no luck.

TIA

Phil

"TheScullster" wrote in message
. uk...
Hi all

Er indoors has spotted what looks like strange fungal outbreak in one of
our borders!
There is nothing planted in the border, and the growth looks just like
numerous orange petals laid on the soil surface.
Each "petal" is between 6mm and 10mm across.
The location is East Yorks in a sheltered(ish) spot.
The only source I can think of is unrotted kitchen compost being buried
under this border 18 months - 2 years ago.
Any suggestions on what this is?
Tried searching the pics on UK Fungus site with no luck.

TIA

Phil

Hi Phil,

Try googling on "orange peel fungus". It is a fungus associated with bare
ground - clay especially. If it's not that, is it possible you could post a
pic so we could get a better idea?

Spider

"Spider" wrote

Try googling on "orange peel fungus". It is a fungus associated with bare
ground - clay especially. If it's not that, is it possible you could post
a pic so we could get a better idea?

Thanks Spider
The bare clay ground fits sure enough.
The stuff I'm seeing looks like the bits in the bottom right of this
pictu
http://www.haworth-village.org.uk/na...ts.asp?pic=332
although it's very flat to the ground.
There's masses of it, but none is larger than 12mm diameter and it is all
flat with no curling or cupping.
Maybe that means it's a different species altogether!
Does this fly in on the wind, or are the spores coming from something in the
ground like my compost?

Phil

Most (not all) fungal spores are exceedingly mobile, very tiny spores blowing on the wind. So if you have the right conditions, it can just start growing. Since what you see is just the fruiting body, sometimes the fungus was there for years before growing in the ground, and it was just teh conditions that brought it out. Recent conditions have been ideal for fungus fruting - warmth and stress for rather dry August-Oct followed by tipping it down with rain, and little frost year, and if you go for a walk in the woods you'll see loads just now. Normally this fruiting frenzy happens earlier in the year.

But it can also happen that you bring it in, if there is fungal growth already in the material you spread. Someone I know collected leaves from the woods for composting, and got some unusual woodland fungi the first year or two.

The only common thing your description suggests is Orange Peel Fungus, as Spider suggests. There are some similar things, but we'll need a picture if we are to suggest anything else.

"TheScullster" wrote in message
. uk...

"Spider" wrote

Try googling on "orange peel fungus". It is a fungus associated with
bare ground - clay especially. If it's not that, is it possible you
could post a pic so we could get a better idea?

Thanks Spider
The bare clay ground fits sure enough.
The stuff I'm seeing looks like the bits in the bottom right of this
pictu
http://www.haworth-village.org.uk/na...ts.asp?pic=332
although it's very flat to the ground.
There's masses of it, but none is larger than 12mm diameter and it is all
flat with no curling or cupping.
Maybe that means it's a different species altogether!
Does this fly in on the wind, or are the spores coming from something in
the ground like my compost?

Phil

Hi Phil,

It can appear in both small and large masses, and even eventually flattened,
so it would still fit. Apart from bare, clayey soil it can also appear in
grassland or where grass has grown; also in woodland. In the northern USA,
I believe it can appear where the redwood tree has grown. Nothing I have
read tells me that it is actually specific to any of these things. However,
many years ago, following the death of a hybrid cupressus hedge, I saw many
similar fungi, so perhaps there is a woody connection ... but this anecdotal
information is hardly a certainty. We may never know.

Spider

"TheScullster" wrote in message
. uk...

"Spider" wrote

Try googling on "orange peel fungus". It is a fungus associated with
bare ground - clay especially. If it's not that, is it possible you
could post a pic so we could get a better idea?

Thanks Spider
The bare clay ground fits sure enough.
The stuff I'm seeing looks like the bits in the bottom right of this
pictu
http://www.haworth-village.org.uk/na...ts.asp?pic=332
although it's very flat to the ground.
There's masses of it, but none is larger than 12mm diameter and it is all
flat with no curling or cupping.

You could try Googling for images of the following, maybe it could be one of
them:

Neotiella rutilans (syn. Peziza rutilans) - saucer-shaped, up to 1.5 cm.
Scutellinia umbrarum; Scutellinia scutellata (Eyelash fungus); - these are
quite flat and around 1 cm in dia.
Sarcoscypha coccinia (Scarlet Elf Cup); Aleuria aurantia (Orange peel
fungus) - these are up to 5 and 10 cm dia, and cup-shaped, not flat.

"someone" wrote

Neotiella rutilans (syn. Peziza rutilans) - saucer-shaped, up to 1.5 cm.
Scutellinia umbrarum; Scutellinia scutellata (Eyelash fungus); - these are
quite flat and around 1 cm in dia.
Sarcoscypha coccinia (Scarlet Elf Cup); Aleuria aurantia (Orange peel
fungus) - these are up to 5 and 10 cm dia, and cup-shaped, not flat.


Thanks to all

A number of relevant points raised!
Looking at the links above, it most closely resembles the Scutellinia in
form and size - although it appears even less fleshy than some of the pics.
Just like a flower petal laid on the ground.
There may be a wood connection, as there were some Blue Lawson Cyprus firs
in a nearby border until a few years ago.
They are predominantly on a clay border but have migrated into the adjacent
lawn.
Guess I'll just keep an eye on it and see how it progresses.

Phil