Is it a fungal hairball?

[mrdreamjeans]

OK ... I am going to attempt to describe a substance that I've found in my parents' flower garden twice in the past week. I've never seen anything like it. It is bright neon yellow, the consistancy of oatmeal and was in tennis ball-like form, a large cluster. I first thought it was a mushroom thingie (see, I have a huge vocabulary:), then I thought that it was something a cat, skunk (one lives under their porch), toad or snake threw up; then, when I was planting flowers for Mom yesterday, I noticed that when I dug down into the cypress mulch, there were flecks of neon yellow. Could it be a fungal substance, erupting spontaneously from the ground covering? It's fascinating and gross. Just like some people I know ... Ha! An uninformed, unscientific mind wants to know!

Edit: After receiving some very good feedback, I googled slime mold and found a few photo examples. This one is the closest; but our mass is more condensed and a brighter yellow than in the photo.



Here's another one that is similar, but our personal slime mold isn't this orange:)

Comments

[ruralrob.livejournal.com]

Alien poop maybe?

[bootedintexas.livejournal.com]

photo?

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

It really looks like vomit, but the color is so odd, I don't think so:) I like alien poop, though, as an answer. Hehehe

[macduff131.livejournal.com]

i feel like i've seen them before...i think it is a fungus. but what do i know? my thumbs are not green...i managed to kill a cactus by under-watering it.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I didn't think to take one. I will if I see it again.

Btw, the photo of you with the cigar yesterday was very flattering:)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I'm not a gardener either. I've killed a cactus too. I think I hurt its feelings:)

[macduff131.livejournal.com]

i've also managed to kill bamboo, which is, so i'm told, nearly impossible.

[otterpop58.livejournal.com]

sounds like it might be some type of puffball (a fungus)

[philhasablog.livejournal.com]

Must be an adult cootie. Grade school girls mostly carry the larval forms (as we know) but this is what might have happened.

[woofytexan.livejournal.com]

I googled: garden fungus yellow ball and then clicked on images. Did it look like any of those? I'm betting on yellow fungus based on your descriptive terms. ;) I would post a URL but I am using Firefox for my browser and not sure if you are using it or Safari.

[labeartorycub.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you're describing a slime mold, which is fairly common in mulch beds. But because I'm no mycologist, I don't know what you should do to treat it of if you should do anything at all. It's probably there feeding on whatever organic substance it's found. Sounds creepy, eh?

[use2bshy.livejournal.com]

Lease it adds color to the garden :)

[geometrician.livejournal.com]

What you are describing is a slime mold. They come in many different varieties. They are not really a fungus, but were thought to be so until recent years. Slime molds are completely harmless and can usually be gotten rid of by washing them away with water or just scooping them up with a shovel.

[bruinwi.livejournal.com]

There are several instances of fungi that grow below the surface of the soil. One was found in Michigan's U.P. that took up an area hundreds of square miles, all underground.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Overachiever! :)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll look into that!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

LOL! Ooooooh ... Mature cooties! :) There's a movie there somewhere.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I'm using Safari .. I'm going to google using your terms. The odd thing is that it doesn't have a rubbery texture like I associate with fungi .. It smears as I found out when I stepped in it.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

It is! You've used two terms I've never heard before. Thank You! I've not heard of slime mold or "mycologist". Must more enticing words than "mushroom thingie"! :) We're using crypress mulch and the eruptions seem to be a spontaneous event.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeed! :) It's in sharpe contrast to the hot pink and white Vincas.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Ah! Thank you kindly, oh scientific friend! :)

HUGS!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

WOW! I have my very own slime bed! Perhaps, it will convince the skunk under the porch to leave! :)

HUGS!

[macduff131.livejournal.com]

don't be jealous of my skills.

heehee

[labeartorycub.livejournal.com]

Ooo, ooo! (waving hands in the air) Do I get a prize? :) You know, I often use "[x] thingie" or "thing-a-ma-bob/jig" whenever I don't the technical term for something. Must be the redneck in me.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

That makes the two of us! :)

I already won the prize .. a friendship with you!

HUGS!

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Since it's two weeks later, wonder if you found your remedy for that. In this dry high desert climate, slime mold would be a true rarity! I've never seen it...and don't remember it from my 11 years in Lousyanna.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

No remedy. I haven't seen it at my folks since. Perhaps, it was a product of the hot then cold and humid conditions in early May. Now, we're at hot, hot, and more hot and humid. It's been 97 degrees for three days running.