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Recent wet weather leads to saturated soil, flourishing fungi

The recent rains around the region have led to a toadstool takeover in resident's flower beds, under trees, in the woods and even a beautiful lush perfect green lawn.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - The recent rains around the region have led to a toadstool takeover in resident’s flower beds, under trees, in the woods and even a beautiful lush perfect green lawn.

Tim Jones is a mushroom enthusiast and said the unseasonably wet weather is why the fungi are starting to flourish.

“Now that we’re having some consistent rain this summer we are starting to see things pop-up [that are] normally not seen during a drought,” Jones said.

The mushrooms that we see are just the “flower” of the fungi that has been hiding and waiting to sprout at the right time.

“Often times it’s underground under the leaves, under the soil living with tree roots. Mushrooms are virtually everywhere, we just can’t always see the fungus that is among us,” Jones said.

The fungi are just a part of nature decomposing dead material, such as stumps, broken limbs and branches and leaves.

“The fungi are digesting these and they’re making new soil they’re freeing up nutrients for other organisms to consume,” Jones said.

However, some mushrooms can be toxic if eaten, so make sure you watch kids and pets if you see mushrooms in your yard or while walking.

Otherwise, Jones said they are mostly harmless.

“They can’t hurt anybody as long as you don’t eat them, there is no danger in danger in touching them, there is really not a problem having mushrooms,” Jones said.

Anyone interested in consuming wild mushrooms should only do it with extreme caution

“It’s a perfectly safe thing to do when you know what you’re doing and a very foolish thing to do if you don’t,” he said.

Researching and going out with a person who is knowledgeable is critical because the similarities are too close to take an unnecessary risk.

“You can look at a poisonous mushroom and edible mushroom side by side and maybe not be able to tell the difference,” Jones said.

For example, the death cap and destroying angel have been known to fool people into thinking they are harmless, which can be a fatal mistake.

If you think mushrooms growing in your lawn are unsightly, Jones says you don’t have many options.

“You can pick the mushrooms after that popped up but there is really no method that I am aware of to eradicate them -- they are an important part of the ecosystem,” Jones said.

For more on mushrooms, you can go to the North American Mycological Association and the Arkansas Mushroom and Fungi Facebook page.

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