Fungi growing on soil. Southern England.

[ecoli at cix.compulink.co.uk]

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> bionet/plants #11570, from kdbanglia at aol.com, 902 chars, 03 Jun 2000 
21:35:14 
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> From: kdbanglia at aol.com (KDBANGLIA)
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> Subject: Fungi growing on soil.  Southern England.
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> Can anyone give a rough idea of what the outcome of outcrops of fungi 
on soil
> is ?
> 
> The fungi grows in a cupped shape, upto about an inch and a half 
across, has a
> white testured outer bloom and a smooth khaki coloured inner.
> 
> I'd guess at poor drainage !
> 
> Richard Brooks.
Hello Richard,
What do you know about the soil ? If farmyard manure (FYM) or other 
bulky organic waste has been recently (last six months) incorporated it 
is quite common for fruit bodies to emerge from bare soil.(I have a load 
coming up in my vegetable patch at the moment after a heavy FYM 
dressing.They are essentially based in lumps of manure that have not yet 
been completely incorporated.
Try looking up the genera Otidea and Peziza for pictures that might 
match.
As to the "outcome" it is hard to say that there is one apart from the 
fact that that particular fungus is present and found the soil and the 
season just right. It will be decomposing organic matter  just like 
nearly all the other bacteria and fungi that exist in millions in every 
handful of soil.

 Peter Harris
 Reading, UK.