hello, im new to the forum and i was hoping you couuld help me identify these strange mushrooms i found in my garden? i have a dog, and i would rather he didnt die from eating these. do you think that will be a problem? Thanks, Matt.
Not sure about European fungi ... we have some Europeans on the board who drop in every now and then, i'm surprised they havn't chimed in yet. I'd consider Coprinus micaceus for this one.
Agree - they look like Coprinus. The ones that grow across the street from me appear to be clustered near the local dogs' favoured spots to relieve themselves. So although it is known to be a dung lover, I wonder if this species might just prefer dog contributions? frog
I'd think 'nitrogen-rich' loving is more accurate to describe these Coprinus. I find them in fertilized and well kept yards much more often than growing on dung.
Which brings up another interesting question I'd like to know: Does this group need nitrogen etc from a dung source or would they grow to full potential on nitrogen etc that came from other sources? frog
Good question. Although one nitrogen source should be the same as any other nitrogen source, there is another reason mushrooms like dung. Assuming an animal consumes some mushroom spores (from spores in hay, on grass, or eating part of a mushroom), spores are excreted undamaged with the dung. The dung provides the moisture, humidity, and temperature conducive for the spores to develop a nice mat of mycelium. These additional factors offer an advantage over plain old nitrogen rich soil like a well kept lawn. The answer to your question, about whether coprinus would prefer dung to a nitrogen rich lawn, is an empirical one.
I was informed yesterday that some Coprini don't need dung at all (which again teaches me not to assume), and confirmed what you said MycoRob, about C. micaceous just liking a nice fertilized lawn. Given that this group has recently been reorganized into different clades, I'm wondering if they grouped all the true dung lovers together? 'Am probably not likely to undertake a rigorous study of the dog patterns and coprinus in my neighbourhood <grin> but it still looks to me like they are gravitating to key areas of the yards.
