94°F
weather icon Mostly Cloudy

Bird’s nest mushrooms benefit soil

Question: I found some mystery pods in the garden when doing some cleanup. One of the pods is closed, and the second is open and with what appears to be small black seeds. Any idea what this is?

These are not pods but what is called bird's nest mushrooms. These look like tiny little pods with black seed-like things inside them. Like other mushrooms or saprophytic (feed off of dead things) fungi, they survive on decaying organic matter in the soil. We can see these fairly commonly in compost heaps, decaying mulches or other places where organic waste is decomposing. They are interesting, and kids love these little things.

They are nothing to worry about. They feed off of dead plants, so there is no harm to living plants or you. They are decomposers, so they help to break down litter on or in the soil after or during a warm wet period. I attached a fact sheet from Texas A& M on this interesting form of plant life. I will post your pictures on my blog for others to see.

Bob Morris is a professor emeritus in horticulture with the University of Nevada and can be reached at extremehort@aol.com. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
The sun sets on my days as RJ’s gardening columnist

Thanks to everyone who has supported my journey into journalism by reading my gardening column over the years and contributing questions.

What’s ailing my mature pine trees?

When native pine trees are grown on their own they will develop taproots or sinker roots for stability and to secure enough water.

Gaining control over this annual weed is not easy to do

To make sure it doesn’t return you have to interrupt the seed-to-flowering-plant cycle at least for a couple of years and fill the voids with something competitive.

Why did my bird of paradise plants quit blooming?

They were in bloom when we planted them five or six years ago, and they bloomed the following year as well. But they have not bloomed again.

MORE STORIES