sheep and mushroom spores

[Eileen Stein]

After a long dry spell we've had a lot of rain, and my fields are full of spectacular mushrooms. As they age they turn black, and release big puffs of spores. Don't recall seeing anything like this quantity before. Does anyone know if it's something to worry about, sheepwise?

[Sue R]

Sounds like you simply have puffballs, likely Bovista pila, or true puffballs. They are edible when young and white, turn brown/black and papery, and release black/brown spores. You might also have giant puffball, which is similar but quite large.

 

I've never understood any problems with puffballs. My kids always enjoyed stomping on them when they were "ripe" and watching the breeze take the spores. I have never noticed any large animals eat them at any stage but I haven't made a "study" of it.

 

We found some beautiful mushrooms under our apple trees but couldn't positively identify them as edible so they went into the compost. They looked so tempting!

[Eileen Stein]

Actually, they don't look like puffballs (or what I think of puffballs) to begin with. They look like big creamy white Chinese coolie hats. But then they gradually morph into that popover shape as they turn black, and they eventually emit a smoky burst of spores like a puffball. Some of them are growing in definite "fairy rings." Is there a kind of puffball that fits that description?

 

I wasn't so much afraid that sheep would eat the mushrooms themselves, as that they'd consume the spores in eating grass the spores had fallen on in quantity. But maybe they have better sense.

[Sue R]

Oh, I'm sorry, but I misunderstood entirely. The fairy ring mushroom is edible but I am no mushroom expert at all so I really have no idea if that's what your species is. I'd tend to not worry as we've never had a problem with our cattle and mushrooms/spores over the years (at least not to know it).

 

I do enjoy seeing the vast variety of mushrooms/fungi that show up under damp conditions. Some look so deliciously tempting but I'm too ignorant to try "mushrooming" to eat any.

 

Best wishes!

[IronHorse]

Eileen,

Without seeing pictures I cannot be certain but from what you discribed it sounds like you are having flushes of Marasmius oreades (commonly known as "Fairy ring mushrooms")

If they are Marasmius oreades then they are concidered a choice edible type mushroom and would cause no harm to livestock.

When the mushroom releases its spore the spore is quickly dispersed to the wind.

You can do a search and find detailed information that would aid you in positively indentifing what you have but I would bet they are Marasmius oreades and you have nothing to worry about other then the fact that you missed out picking them at their peak for consumption.

We just had a major flush of them around here as well and they were yummy.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I wish I had a mushroomer to consult about a week ago. We had a ton of 'shrooms - big yummy juicy looking things, all over the pastures. Some puffs, a few tempting looking meaty toadstool thingies. Some were big enough to make a dinner of themselves! We've got three mushroom lovers in the family. I wouldn't dare, though.

 

I never noticed the sheep pay them a bit of attention. They were too busy feasting on the lush grass that popped up following the rain.

 

After a week on this grass and the cool weather, the rams are going to work. Yay, February lambing! Absolutely perfect - we did this last year and didn't feed the lambs a single grain of feed (the mamas got a litte ewe feed). The cool season grass starts greening in early March here.

[Eileen Stein]

Although they do grow in a somewhat raggedy ring, I don't think they're fairy ring mushrooms because they're big as a dinner plate. I do feel reassured that they're not going to spread devastation, but since we obviously have some major fungus expertise among our members, I will take a couple of pictures of them later today and post. Maybe one of y'all can identify them -- my curiosity is aroused.