Hi, can someone help me identify this? I recently found some type of mold growing underneath my patio, and I am very curious; I have never seen anything like this before. Description: It is lodged (and stuck) on top of some soil and the nearby rocks. Looks like long strands of hair except it is matted near the soil areas.
Hi @B.Toast - This looks more like actual hair/fur rather than fungal material. But if it does turn out to be fungus, you could compare this to Phycomyces or similar as there are a limited number of fungi composted of long above ground hair like structures. Can you see if it is attached to anything? Do the top ends of the hairs terminate in tiny balls?
Hi, frog Thank you for your response. I thought it was hair at first, but it seems almost impossible for there to be that much in only one location. There are also a couple of bird nests above the area, they return every spring, but I doubt they did that since the fur material was not here last year. Also, the hair seems to be attached to the soil and the adjacent rocks, and the top of the ends does not terminate in tiny balls. As when I went to poke at the thicker areas of the fungus, with a stick, nothing came off as usually does with hair, it is very firm and is in one large chunk. At the left edge of the second photo, you can see that the looser hair-like material is on top of what looks like rocks but is actually the solid matted chunks attached into the soil. If it is Phycomyces, does this cause any harm to the nearby vegetation or organisms, and should I have it removed?
@B.Toast good morning and welcome to the forum, your location is not showing up so I'm unaware of your wildlife. But IMO it is white tailed deer molting that you are witnessing. Springtime you see this everywhere and regarding the birds nesting, it is perfect nest material. Nature working hand in hand. D
Thanks @vitog, yes @B.Toast you do have white tailed deer and in good numbers. I think the molt is what you are looking at.
