The Mysterious Yellow Mushroom

While I was drinking coffee on the screened-in back porch this morning, I spotted this yellow thing sticking out of the pot of my Haworthia (right corner).

I had to get a closer look. What the heck was that thing??? Time to get out the macro extension tubes for my camera...

Ah-ha, a mushroom! A very brightly colored mushroom, at that. I had to look it up. I had never seen this before. It turns out these yellow mushrooms are called Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, aka Lepiota lutea, the yellow houseplant mushroom. After some reading I discovered that these can pop up in old soil or pots with bad drainage. Well, this Haworthia has been in this pot with no drainage holes for two years now. Guess that will do it. I don’t water it much at all knowing it doesn’t have any drainage, but I guess there is enough moisture in there to cause this mushroom to sprout. As it matures, it will change to more of a cream-colored, umbrella-like mushroom. Right now, I gotta say, I think it’s kinda cute. I even feel like giving it a name. Seriously, look at it. Look at that color and those little fuzzy things on top. It’s absolutely adorable.

According to the all-knowing, powerful internet, the only way to get rid of these things is to repot – if using the same pot, clean it with a bleach solution, and use all new fresh soil. However, from the sounds of it, they may come back. It sounds like it would be a good idea to get rid of it before the umbrella top forms that releases the spores. Poor little Freddie. I guess I have to get rid of him before he turns into a bunch of Freddie Juniors. It was nice knowing you Freddie. Thanks for introducing me to something new.