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Biology/Fungi?

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Expert: - 10/22/2008


Question

Fungi in the dirt?
I have a yard on the side of my house that has a mound of dirt. There is not much water access or excessive sunlight in this area but there used to be shrubs that we tore out about 3 years ago. I've noticed, since then, that there are weird "dirt mounds" growing in this area. They look like clumps of brown dry mud, with black discoloration. They range in size- the longer they grow, the larger they get. When my husband kicked one it crumbled (dissipated) and a ton of brown dry dust was released. We thought it might be fungi and/or mold but our searches on google were in vain. Can you please help- we want to know if we should have someone professional look into it.

Answer
They could be fingus spores but without seeing this up close I cannot tell. It does not sound like anything dangerous. Fungi are every place. If you have a college biology dept. nearby ther emay be someone to help.  I would not spend a lof of money to hire somebody. Let me know if you find out

Walter Hintz

Expertise

Science teacher for over 50 years. MSc. in biology. I can answer questions in general biology, zoology, botany, anatomy and physiology and biochemistry.

Experience

I have a MSc in biology and have been a science teacher for over 50 years. At present I am a faculty member at a college and a science consultant at seven catholic schools.

Publications
The Ohio journal of Science
Momentum-The Journal of the Catholic Education Association

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