A strange ‘alien’ fungus on woodchip: why it looks like that
The open brown cup with a pale outside in Hartungviken fits cup fungi often found on woodchip and other woody mulch. What matters is not whether it looks odd or unattractive, but what it is doing in the bed.
This fits a cup fungus in the Peziza group best. The open cup, brown to orange-brown inside, paler outside and growth directly on woodchip are very typical.
In your planting, it is breaking down the woodchip rather than attacking the strawberry plants or other plants. Appearing in late August is normal too, after the woodchip, moisture and warmth have had time to work together.
There is no need for treatment. To remove it for now, simply pick off the fruiting bodies, but the fungus itself will remain in the woodchip until the material has decomposed. If many appear regularly and you dislike the appearance, rake the woodchip apart so that the surface dries more quickly.
View the case and dialogue – Case #22
The reader’s original question
Strange alien fungus – what is it?
Submitted
- Tomasgreen asked
- What was the fungus growing directly on?
- Why we asked
- Cup fungi differ between species depending on whether they grow directly in soil, on woodchip or on decaying wood.
- The reader’s answer
- Woodchip or mulch
Sources and images 1
- Original reader contribution ↗Reader question