Mushrooms, Fairy Rings, and Other Nuisance Fungi in the Landscape

Mushrooms are a nuisance to some people and a tasty treat to others. A mushroom is a fruiting structure of a fungus and can be many different shapes and sizes. Some mushrooms and puffballs are edible, but others can be very toxic. Typical food sources for nuisance fungi in the landscape are soil, wood, other plant tissues, and wastes such as dung, leaves, and other organic matter. Management techniques for many of the nuisance fungi are similar and include removal of the organic matter the fungi are growing on, managing turf areas to limit thatch accumulation, and cleaning up the landscape.