ovoidmusic's Identifications

Healthy totally natural wild georgia caerulecens patch. Hurricane helene water has them fruiting. This area has recently (within the last 5-7 years) had imported or moved existing dirt to create a level ground nearby. this area has large amounts of water runoff to it and caerulecens have been found growing about a 50 or 60 feet away from what seems to be its center. so its a fairly large mycelial network. fruiting next to and probably sharing the same meal as lacrymaria lacrymabunda.

In previous logs, I mentioned that I suspected the caerulecens appeared after a leveling job done 2-4 years ago, where dirt was imported. I recently learned exactly where that dirt came from, which sheds more light on the situation.

About 2-4 years ago, two neighbors had pools built. One needed dirt, while the other had excess dirt to get rid of. The property where I’ve observed all the flushes had received this extra dirt. What I didn’t know until recently was that this dirt had come from the neighbor’s property. This made me realize that if my theory about the leveling job was correct, there must have been an original patch of caerulecens at the source.

Above, you can see a single fruiting body found on the original site—the property that gave away the dirt.

For those interested in habitat details, here are some observations about both patches:

• Both patches are on an east-facing slope, which gets plenty of shade throughout the day due to pine trees to the south and west. They receive little direct sunlight.
• A washout provides water to both patches. During rain, it forms a shallow, wide stream that washes through the area, preventing grasses and other plants from growing because of poor drainage caused by the pool installations. The caerulecens patches are located where both washouts end, and transition to being surrounded by the green weeds I’ll discuss next.

If you look at my previous posts, you’ll see how lush and green these patches are compared to a typical lawn. Moss and the weeds I’ve photographed seem to play a role in the fruiting process, possibly having a symbiotic relationship. If you’re from Georgia, you might recognize these same weeds and moss in areas where Lacrymaria lacrymabunda often fruits. Interestingly, these two species sometimes fruit in the same patches, while other times one appears without the other, as I’ve documented.

Many others have shared similar experiences of finding both species of fungi growing near the same types of weeds, suggesting a unique habitat relationship.