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Two days ago I noticed a mysterious and short-lived mushroom in my planter that is housing a flowering "Carnival Blend" bell pepper plant.

Yesterday it looked like this:

Mushroom in Planter. Another Picture of the Mushroom in the Planter.

Today the mushroom is dead and I can barely see any remnant of it. Some caterpillar was eating it and it seemed to have a quick lifecycle (I don't know much about mushrooms and came to that conclusion because it sprouted and fanned out in two to three days).

Are the peppers and other nearby plants still safe to eat?

I use a lot of home-dug "forest dirt" in my bed and planters so seeing a mushroom doesn't surprise me. I'm curious as to whether others think I even worry too much about this.

NoAlias
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3 Answers3

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It's Parasola plicatilis, previously known as Coprinus, common name pleated inkcap. These are delicate mushrooms with a short lifespan of 24-72 hours - nothing much to worry about, they are saprobic, a decomposer mushroom usually found in grassy areas or sometimes forest edges, but there is some suggestion they might possibly have psychoactive properties. Not considered edible, but may be toxic if consumed because of the psychoactive possibility, though its not listed as poisonous. Info here http://www.first-nature.com/fungi/parasola-plicatilis.php

If you use forest soil, then as you say, this kind of thing is to be expected.

Bamboo
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Could be a Mycena, Amanita, maybe others, I'm not an expert so I'd need to have a closer examination and a spore deposit to give you a real ID on the mushrooms. The mycelium is in the mix digesting partly decomposed organic matter. the mushrooms you saw are just the fruiting bodies and do not represent the lifespan of the fungus, which is probably still there. It's normal for many mushrooms to complete their reproductive growth in a few days or less.

Since you took this litter off the forest floor, I am not surprised to see a mushroom, at all.

To answer you're question, odds are that the mushroom is probably not edible, but also probably not highly toxic. if none of the pepper fruit touched/rubbed the mushrooms, you should be absolutely fine. Also, i know you didn't ask, but what you have might be more acidic than what peppers grow well in, and decomposing woody matter will be pulling nitrogen. You might notice effects from that.

J. Musser
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Your mushrooms are Leucocoprinus cepaestipes, one of a few Leucocoprinus species known as "flower pot mushrooms" because they are very common in potted plants and greenhouses, even if no soil was used from outdoors. Their toxicity is unknown, they MAY be poisonous (some related species are), but even if they are, the toxin doesn't transfer to plants. It is perfectly safe to handle them, just rinse your hands after (so you don't somehow eat any of it!). You can pull them as they grow but it will only slow them down, the main body of the mushroom is throughout the soil. Here's a link to a page that describes them: https://www.mushroomexpert.com/leucocoprinus_cepaestipes.html

Mycologista
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