Today I learned about a weird mushroom called bird’s nest fungus or cyathus stercoreus. It’s only about 1 cm talk, but it packs a lot of ick into its small package.
These mushrooms like to grow in decaying biomass or soil that has dung in it. I found these along the green strip next to the tiles where I had spread some wood chips last year.
The little nubs are containers that hold multiple tiny black peridioles the size of a pin head. The containers can be broken open with a well-placed drop of water, which sends the insides flying out.
Though there were some in a dry patch, most of them clustered along the drip line of the roof, where many of them had been opened by the rain and spewed their cargo.
I am not much weirded out by nature, but these mushrooms give me the squicks. I did not like finding the little black ejecta on my legs after photographing them. Euw.
Another interesting find (not a horror at all) in the same garden space is this tiny skull:
I’m pretty sure this is a mouse. I found no other bones nearby, which indicates to me that this guy was someone’s lunch. I sat him next to my deer antler in the living room so you can see how small it is: less than 3 cm long and 1 cm high.
Check out the cool teeth! Even so small, it has long incisors and two rows of zigzag shaped chompers. All the little holes were once filled with blood vessels and connective tissue. It’s really beautiful, even if it’s cracked and dirty.
I don’t know why mushrooms send shivers up my spine, but skeletons of mammals don’t bother me at all.
