As my Arranger was about to water the Shiny Bristle Fern (Arachnoides davalliaeformis) on our front porch, she noticed something interesting and unlikely, a bright object hiding under the foliage. I was summoned to see and identify.
On closer inspection, it certainly looked like a mushroom or toadstool of some sort. Ah, there’s a fungus among us!
A search of other pots near our front porch revealed similar yellow fungi growing where they were not planted. Not being a fungi expert, I consulted the internet, found a picture match for my new discovery, and am reasonably sure it is Amanita muscaria, identified as a highly toxic fungi. A gloved hand removed them from pot to trash bin.
We have experienced an enormous amount of rain in the past week (another half inch yesterday), and I wonder if that might be encouraging the growth of fungi in our area. A neighbor must have been as surprised as I was to see something unusual suddenly appear in her front yard.
Again, a bit of research enabled me to identify a “Fairy Ring” with some degree of confidence. These are fungi in the Basidomycetes class.
One of the joys of gardening…and observing nature in general…is the discovery of new things that venture into our awareness. They can be birds and snakes and butterflies and seedlings and insects and creepy crawlies. They can be benign or dangerous. Some we may welcome, others we may have to deal with. In almost every case there is a lesson to be learned. And that, for me, is joyful.
A Walk in the Garden 
Not much rain here, but lots of gray skies. My neighbor is having an invasion of stinkhorn mushrooms,which are very eye-catching but not something for a family-friendly blog. Luckily, you have the cute kind!
LikeLike
That looks like a Tassel fern to me.
LikeLike
Thanks, Marian. Cute, perhaps, but deadly.
LikeLike
Noell, My Arranger and I think you may indeed be correct. Looks like we both misread the label.
LikeLike
Wow – I just pulled 2 very similar looking yellow things out of my indoor orchid mulch (must be overwatering), and never thought to check out what it was that I was removing! Smelled like a mushroom – never even considered it might be dangerous to touch. Yikes!
LikeLike
Thanks, Elizabeth. I was about to do the same thing, but my curiosity lead me to search for an ID.
LikeLike
We have a spot in our yard where we sometimes get a fairy circle of large, brilliant orange mushrooms, which I identified as Jack O’Lantern mushrooms (Omphalotus olearius). Haven’t seen many of them this year since it’s been a fairly dry late summer/early autumn. They’re also toxic. Good idea to wear gloves when removing them!
LikeLike
Thanks, Kimberley
LikeLike
I hope you washed the gloves too, it is a highly toxic mushroom, possibly the one that killed the emperor Claudius mixed in with his favourite mushroom of the same family, Ovoli.
LikeLike
Thanks, Christina. The gloves were throw-aways. I keep a box handy for use in the garden.
LikeLike