fungus on lawn

I live in El Paso, Texas. My sister-in-law has some type of fungus in her backyard. She said from further away it looks like mushrooms, but when you get up close it’s a really soft and squishy mess, and when it dries it flakes away. She did also mention that there were a lot of ants around the area. She said there are several patches of this in her backyard. We have both searched on the internet and can’t come up with anything. Can you help? This is our monsoon season and so therefore we have had some rain – not a huge amount.

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1 Comment To "fungus on lawn"

#1 Comment By Downtoearthdigs On 07/20/2015 @ 2:57 pm

This is a growth known as a slime mold or (I kid you not) a dog vomit fungus. This article has more information on what it is:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/sam21/dogvomit.htm ^[1]

There is no effective way to get rid of it, but that flaking you see is actually spores being released. You need to let it run its course without spreading spores to other parts of the yard. Cover it with a bucket or towel to help keep spore release and dispersal down.

It will not hurt you or the plants, but it does look unsightly.

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[1] http://www.personal.psu.edu/sam21/dogvomit.htm: http://www.personal.psu.edu/sam21/dogvomit.htm

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