It looks like a fungus, either artillery (shotgun) fungus or bird's nest fungus. As far as I know there are no fungicides registered for artillery fungus. It can be a rather complex issue to resolve, so I would recommend you check with your local cooperative extension office or the state university that supports it. Or do a search and focus on the websites that end with ".edu". There are several very informative university fact sheets out there, and I recently ran across an excellent article on this topic, linked below.

If this is near your house or drive, you will want to do something about it before it damages your siding or vehicles - the fungus actually shoots its spores and the tarlike substance and stains are very difficult, if not impossible, to remove.

Here is a link that might be useful: Counter-Attacking Artillery Fungus

These interesting fungi are a non issue UNLESS they crop up in areas near where you park your vehicles or are in proximity to your house. You will learn from your reading that, once mature, those little spore packets (called 'gleba '....isn't that a great word?) inside the cup will be catapulted many feet to a surface upon which they will adhere. They are next to impossible to remove from any painted surface.

However, the fungal bodies are not harmful but exist to aid in the decomposition (bio-recycling, if you will) of the wood mulch.

Your options are to use BARK mulch instead of something composed mostly of the woody part of trees. Few saprophytic fungi can feed on bark....just on dead inner wood. Many wood mulches are dyed to look like bark so be a careful consumer. Alternatively, the use of pine straw has proved to be highly effective in inhibiting the sporulation of these fungi. Even a light dusting of the pine straw on top of the wood can do the trick.

Our mulch is obtained from a couple of tree companies, so is highly variable in content. I've seen artillery fungi frequently but don't give it a thought because it doesn't show on our brick.

Thank you for your help! I am doing some more research on this! It does look like the bird's nest fungus more than the artillery fungus... but then again, sometimes the pictures online are the same.

I am concerned because it is in our vegetable garden. We did not use any wood mulch in our dirt - but probably the company that delivered our "garden mix compost" (for raised beds) had spores from mulch. Or maybe there is manure in the mix.

I'm not finding any information about them being harmful to vegetables. I am a little worried because I would think that if it explodes the sticky spores onto greens, it would be impossible to clean it off the greens... and, I'm sorry... but I can't bring myself to eat fungus spores. My only idea is to scoop out the fungus and throw it away, continuing to do so as more pop up. We keep an organic garden and the fact that they don't have any chemicals to deal with this fungus means that there probably isn't an organic method either.

Any advice? Should I just scoop them out as I see them and not worry about it?

This post was edited by CityBunny on Sun, Sep 1, 13 at 16:16

You can certainly scoop out the fruiting bodies as you see them, hopefully before they ripen. This is a temporary 'fix ', though. They will cause no harm whatsoever to the vegetables as this fungus is a saprophyte, not a parasite. Simply remove the offending leaf if you find one of the sticky packets adhering to it.

The compost is probably derived from wood chips. It makes a terrific product.....my mixed woodchips eventually decompose into a delicious, dark compost.

Saprophytic fungi are ubiquitous, by the way. They are a hugely beneficial and essential part of a healthy environmental. You will in all likelihood see this fungal fruiting body, and others, crop up from time to time. The 'real ' fungal body exists as a network of mycelium and hyphae operating within the soil system.....always feeding on the organic stuff.

Your only 'organic ' means of control is elbow grease. :-)

Actually there IS an organic way to address the problem - mushroom compost. Dr. Davis, of Penn State U, and referenced in the article I linked above as "one of the nation's leading artillery-fungus researchers", has written a Q&A-style fact sheet on this fungus, in which he states, in part:

"Our research at Penn State has shown that blending used mushroom compost with a landscape mulch at about 40% by volume (add 4 buckets of mushroom compost to 6 buckets of landscape mulch) will greatly suppress artillery fungus sporulation. Mushroom compost is very "green" and environmentally friendly."

Since you don't want to turn over the soil so much as to disturb your veggie plants' root systems, I would scoop out as much of the fruiting bodies as possible then gently work the mushroom compost into the surface.

Mushroom compost is great for your plants. It is basically very well-composted manure (usually horse) that has been used to grow mushrooms. It is pasteurized before and after use for mushrooms, so you will get neither mushroom spores nor weeds. Its nitrogen is somewhat depleted, but you can make up for that with a fertilizer if you wish to.

While re-doing our front yard several years ago I ordered 6 cubic yards of mushroom compost to work into our sandy soil. I purchased it from a local garden center that advocates the organic approach, and their stock reflects that position. It was backbreaking work moving that stuff around wheelbarrow-full by wheelbarrow-full, but it paid off ... the beneficial effect on my plants and soil organisms has been outstanding.

Below is a link to Dr. Davis' Q&A. I didn't include it before, thinking it might be too much, but now think otherwise. Funny how things go; I had to research this topic for someone about two weeks ago, at which time I found Dr. Davis' info, and here it is coming 'round again.

As someone else said, don't worry too much about the effects in your vegetable garden. If any produce gets spotted, you can always remove the offending part(s). These are just the fruiting bodies of the mycelium, as are button mushrooms, shiitake, portobello and the like; however, I don't know if they (or their spores) are safe for human consumption as those well-known varieties, so I would err on the side of caution.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Davis on Artillery Fungus