Found some neat mushrooms growing in our potted kumquat tree. Anybody have any idea what kind of mushroom this is?
@nasamuffin compare with Hohenbuehelia petaloides.
@mjambon Ooooh! That sure looks like it. Mine's a little less wrinkly than the ones I see on Google Images but it could just be immature. Thanks! How cool!
@nasamuffin fun fact: I have never seen a real one of these. They get reported on California mushroom forums now and then, and they don't appear to have lookalikes in north America. Oyster mushrooms may be the closest lookalike but they don't make this crowded "petaloid" arrangement.
@mjambon Neat! This is in the south Bay Area, CA. But it occurred in a potted tree, and I have no idea of the provenance of the tree (and its original soil) or of the potting soil used. My guess was that the spores came with the soil at some point - it really surprised me to see them in a planter. but we've had those trees out for over a year, so who knows!
@nasamuffin mycelium of most large wild mushrooms lives several years, it probably came with the soil and/or associated with the tree (I don't know what type of interactions they have with the tree, it could be none, beneficial, or parasitic).
@mjambon Thanks for the tip, this is super interesting. :)
@nasamuffin I'm also in the Bay Area (Palo Alto). Waiting impatiently for mushroom season, mostly on the Pacific side of the mountains + special finds in irrigated landscaped areas.
@mjambon I think I've hit on something - found someone's 00's-era post on this species saying that it needs to find supplementary nitrogen; I just fertilized this planter with coffee grounds (high in nitrogen!) on Monday, so maybe it just finally found enough available nitrogen to pop up. Neat!