Last week we had a few rainy days, which resulted in some amazing patches of Dog Vomit fungus (Fuligo septica) on mulched areas in the garden. I remember back to my Master Gardener days, when you could always expect early spring phone calls from frantic gardeners looking for something to spray to rid their garden of this terror. The reality is that it causes no ill effects in your garden.
Dog vomit fungus, which has a worldwide distribution, was first named back in 1727, so it’s been around a lot longer than most of us. Why can’t we learn to embrace this amazing natural phenomenon? Other than not appealing to folks who were raised as germaphobes, this is one of many amazing shows that nature provides.
Not only does dog vomit fungus not bother your plants, it’s not actually a fungus. It belongs to a group of saprophytic slime molds, meaning it feeds on decaying organic matter. If the common name turns you off, you can use the newer PC name, Scrambled Egg slime mold. Within a couple of days, the color of the fruiting bodies will fade to brown and it will fade away, but isn’t it cool while in fruit!
