Does anyone know what this is exactly? My best guess is a mushroom...

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   Relationshipcposted 10 years ago

   Does anyone know what this is exactly? My best guess is a mushroom...
   
   It is the thing that is in the middle of the picture. It is very low to the ground. It is hard as a rock. And it is all over our front yard. It looks almost like coral, but brownish/black.
   
   

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   JThomp42posted 10 years ago

   My guess would also be mushrooms as well.

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   cat on a soapboxposted 10 years ago

   I can't tell from the picture, but it could be bird's nest fungus. It forms a hard black crusty cover. On closer inspection the mass will look like tiny bird's nest w/ 3 fruiting bodies in each one like tiny eggs. It commonly sprouts from wood mulches and organic materials in grasses and soil. It is actually a harmless natural decomposer.

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      Relationshipcposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah the picture is not that great. :0 I checked out bird's nest fungus online and, even though they are cool looking, they are not what is in my yard.

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      cat on a soapboxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Glad you checked it out! It will be interesting to find out what it is.

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   taburkettposted 10 years ago

   It is difficult to actually say from your picture, but you may have a picture of mold growing where deer frequently feed. This is seen in areas where little sunlight and rain cleanse the area where the deer feed their young.

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      cat on a soapboxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      My other guess would be a slime mold that has crusted over. They are common on damp lawns and pine needles.  Does it  make  airborne dust when disturbed?

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      Relationshipcposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      @cat - Yay!  I think that is exactly what it is. Good to know it's not dangerous. Thank you very much for taking the time to comment.

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      cat on a soapboxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      you're welcome! Good to know

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   The Examiner-1posted 10 years ago

   What I see is green wiring and crumpled aluminum foil. At least that is all that came to mind. I could not find the center of the photo to view on a certain object either.

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   Billie Kelpinposted 10 years ago

   My guess is fungus as well.  Once when living in Seattle, I thought there seemed to be some kind of brownish rubbery caulking around our sliding glass door that Spring.  It had been a particularly wet winter in Seattle. I thought I had just never noticed it before.  However, it kept increasing until one day, I woke up to a smell like mushrooms and the "caulking" was now like a flower shape in the middle of my carpet!  I called the county extension office and they told me that it probably was a form of fungus growing up from spores in the plywood underneath our carpet.  Your county extension office might have an answer.

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