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We have a planter with a tomato plant and a bell pepper (capsicum) plant. A few months ago, during wet weather, many morels (specifically what appears to be Morchella rufobrunnea) started to appear next to the plants. Some research shows that the presence of this Morchella is quite common in our area and grows readily from wood chips in moist conditions.

While I'm not too upset by their presence (indeed they appear to be edible!), I'm wondering whether for the sake of the plants it's better to leave the fungi in, or to remove their visible parts.

Fungi seem to break down decomposing organic matter into components that the plants can perhaps use, but I want to be sure that 1) the fungi don't house other creatures that might harm the plants, or 2) that the fungi may affect the growth of the plants themselves.

jogloran
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  • I would eat them, if I were you. Yummy if cooked properly. – Jurp Jun 07 '20 at 00:14
  • Indeed, they smell kind of delicious. Any harm to the plants leaving them in the planter, though? – jogloran Jun 07 '20 at 03:03
  • I can't see any harm with them in the planter - they shouldn't affect them at all (but as Bamboo noted, an indoor planter would be a different matter - if you didn't eat them first). – Jurp Jun 07 '20 at 12:49
  • Morels normally only fruit for a couple weeks in spring when the oaks are starting to get leaves , so not a persistent "problem". – blacksmith37 Jun 07 '20 at 19:29

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Their presence won't harm the plants in the container, but as these are fruiting bodies, at some point they will eject spores around and about - if the planter is indoors, you might not want those floating in the air, though they won't cause you any problems either. You might want to remove them for aesthetic reasons, but it's not essential.

Bamboo
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