“Can you eat them?” is the question I’m inevitably asked when we find dense mats of mushrooms growing up from our wood chip mulch after a good rain.
And while these ones look quite showy and fleshy, you’d easily walk by them without a second glance.
Each mushroom is no more than the size of a pinky nail, just a few millimeters wide and tall. In their immature state, the mushrooms are inconspicuous nubs with spiky or fluted sides, fully enclosed to protect the “eggs” inside.
As they age, the caps rupture to reveal a nest of eggs denotive of the mushrooms’ common name: bird’s nest fungi.
What is bird’s nest fungus?
Bird’s nest fungus — the mushroom — is not the same bird’s nest in Chinese bird’s nest soup (which are actual birds’ nests from the edible-nest swiftlet and black-nest swiftlet).
Bird’s nest fungi are part of the Nidulariaceae family of fungi, known for their stemless, rounded, hollow fruitbodies that resemble egg-filled birds’ nests. They include Nidularia, Nidula, Mycocalia, Crucibulum, and Cyathus.
The fungi that show up most frequently in my garden are Cyathus striatus, which have flared, tan-colored cups (called sporocarp) holding flattened, dark gray “eggs” (called periodoles) that are shaped like lentils.
They are excellent decomposers and thrive in damp, woodsy environments, often appearing in shady vegetable gardens or woody mulched paths. As long as the climate is temperate with intermittent rains, bird’s nest fungi can spread through any decaying organic matter they come in contact with.
You’ll find groups of bird’s nest fungi in dead tree trunks, rotted timber, wood mulch, bark chips, sawdust, decaying vegetation, or humus-rich soil, especially in fall. You’ll even see them pop up in animal dung, as the periodoles can survive a journey through the digestive tracts of cows and horses.
The life cycle of bird’s nest fungus
Bird’s nest fungi are not only fascinating in appearance, but fascinating in their reproductive strategy. They multiply through the “eggs” in their cups, but not in the way you might think.
Up close, the eggs are almost metallic looking, resembling shiny river stones. They’re known as periodoles, and they serve as protective sacs for the mushroom’s spores.
When drops of water from rain or irrigation land in the cups, they eject the periodoles up to four feet away — hopefully to hospitable terrain where they can reproduce.
At the scale of several millimeters, even a single raindrop can exert enough force to launch the periodoles like a water cannon. This unique method of dispersal is why you’ll sometimes hear bird’s nest fungi referred to as “splash cups.”
This is where it gets really interesting: Each periodole is connected to a funicular cord, essentially a long, fine thread with a sticky tail that unwinds several inches. Yes, inches. From that tiny cup!
As the periodole sails through the air, the cord may come in contact with, say, a blade of grass or a twig. It gets caught by its tail and rapidly wraps around the grass, much like a high-flying game of tetherball.
Here it remains until the periodole dries, then splits open to release the spores.
When the spores germinate, they grow into branching filaments called hyphae. The mass of hyphae (called mycelium) weaves through moist woody debris and consumes the wood to fuel its growth.
Bird’s nest fungi are saprophytes (microorganisms that live on dead organic matter) and this natural process is largely how wood decomposes.
When two different mating strains of mycelia fuse together, they form a new bird’s nest fungus that takes nutrients from organic waste and breaks it down rapidly (speeding up decomposition by two-fold.) This cycle usually occurs between July and October.
Having bird’s nest fungi in the garden makes it much easier and quicker to clean up plant debris, since they reduce large chunks into slivers that eventually decay and help enrich the soil.
Is bird’s nest fungus edible?
At a span of just a centimeter across, bird’s nest fungi are considered inedible due to their tiny size, though no study has ever shown them to be poisonous.
Harold J. Brodie, a Canadian mycologist who studied bird’s nest fungi extensively, concluded in his 1975 book, The Bird’s Nest Fungi, that the mushrooms were “not sufficiently large, fleshy, or odorous to be of interest to humans as food,” though some species have been used by native peoples to stimulate fertility.
The 1910 publication Minnesota Plant Studies suggests they are “not edible owing to their leathery texture.”
So we’ll give this species a miss, as there are far more satisfying (and delicious) mushrooms you can harvest in the wild.
How do you get rid of bird’s nest fungus?
Of all the fungi present in a garden, bird’s nest fungus is one of the most beneficial because of its natural composting abilities. It isn’t harmful to humans, dogs, wildlife, or living plants, so control measures aren’t necessary.
But if the “eggs” become a nuisance (sticking to surfaces like cars, houses, or other structures where they’re difficult to remove), you can lessen the chances of bird’s nest fungi appearing in your yard by raking the soil frequently, decreasing irrigation in shady areas, and using living mulches and edible ground covers (instead of arborist wood chips) in your garden beds.
Fungicide should never be used, as it could disrupt the natural processes in your ecosystem.
This post updated from an article that originally appeared on January 15, 2015.
25 Comments
Dan W
July 2, 2022 at 7:49 amWe are trying to grow this variety for pancreatic cancer research. Do you know what your mulch is made of? Type of tree bark, organic mixtures, moisture levels? Anything information would be of great assistance. If you see them this year would you please contact us? Take a sample
Sam
April 14, 2022 at 12:42 pmCan you tell me where I can buy some birds nest mushrooms?
Linda Ly
April 27, 2022 at 2:56 pmI’m not sure, as they grow naturally in my mulch.
GSBA
April 13, 2016 at 10:00 pmWe have these all through our lawn at the moment, do we just let it go or start pulling them out? Our kids play outside so was just wanting to know what to do?
Thanks
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
April 26, 2016 at 10:13 pmThey’re not harmful so I’d just leave them be unless you want to pull them for aesthetic reasons.
Monica G Ruvalcaba
November 10, 2016 at 3:40 pmdo these have any animal/insects in them? are they harmful to my flowers?
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
November 15, 2016 at 1:10 amThey’re a harmless fungi as far as I know.
disqustid
January 27, 2016 at 11:22 amHow do you fix them to eat? They are so cute and would look good on a plate but not sure what you mean that they are edible.
Linda Ly of Garden Betty
February 8, 2016 at 9:29 pmAs stated in my post: “Bird’s nest fungi are considered inedible due to their tiny size, though no study has ever shown them to be poisonous.” So I did not say they are edible, though they won’t harm you either. They’re simply considered too small to be a useful or interesting food.
theGardenBetty
January 19, 2015 at 5:01 pmAKA splash cups, these mushrooms look like little nests. Splish Splash: Bird’s Nest Fungi http://t.co/rq6FjzWWLG < TY for RT! @BG_garden
thefolia
January 19, 2015 at 2:34 pmViva la Bird’s Nest Fungi–the photos are gorgeous! The metallic colors are irresistible!
theGardenBetty
January 18, 2015 at 9:00 pmA bizarre name for a mushroom until you actually see it. Splish Splash: Bird’s Nest Fungi http://t.co/j7pQI0s5bT #gardenchat
theGardenBetty
January 17, 2015 at 3:01 pmWater drops will launch the “eggs” into the air! Splish Splash: Bird’s Nest Fungi http://t.co/nUv2MeGDDA #gardenchat #mycology
theGardenBetty
January 17, 2015 at 9:01 amThey look like egg-filled nests, but they’re actually mushrooms! Splish Splash: Bird’s Nest Fungi http://t.co/xpgmlvZF0a #mycology
Aparna
January 16, 2015 at 9:22 pmThese are amazing!
Janine_Zschech
January 16, 2015 at 6:41 pmHave you ever seen Birds Nest Fungi? Unique in every sense. More here: http://t.co/oBzcucHy44
BG_garden
January 16, 2015 at 6:35 pmRT @theGardenBetty: Also known as splash cups, these mushrooms look like little nests. Splish Splash: Bird’s Nest Fungi http://t.co/rq6FjzW…
theGardenBetty
January 16, 2015 at 6:00 pmAlso known as splash cups, these mushrooms look like little nests. Splish Splash: Bird’s Nest Fungi http://t.co/rq6FjzWWLG #gardenchat
theGardenBetty
January 16, 2015 at 12:01 pmThese mushrooms disperse through the power of raindrops. Splish Splash: Bird’s Nest Fungi http://t.co/lEUAAzk5r9 #gardenchat
Hannah
January 16, 2015 at 9:44 amI have these all over a corner of our yard after putting mulch down. Thank you for the information! I had no idea what they were.
Kimberly of KimRidge Farm
January 16, 2015 at 7:57 amHi Linda,
Thank you for sharing such a curious nature’s creation. They do look like river pebbles. They also remind me of black pearls or beans.
I wonder, can you use their caps (after they are done with them) to put some seed starter and plant seeds for this year’s garden?
Kimberly
Linda Ly
January 19, 2015 at 5:20 amThe caps are tiny, only a centimeter in diameter, so they would barely hold a seed. 🙂 I’ve never seen bird’s nest fungi grow any larger than these.
Kimberly @ KimRidge Farm
January 19, 2015 at 10:52 amOh my! They are really tiny. The eggs must be just a couple of millimeters wide. You took really nice pictures of them.
theGardenBetty
January 16, 2015 at 6:01 amFascinating biology for such tiny little mushrooms. Splish Splash: Bird’s Nest Fungi http://t.co/426CKLzHDI #gardenchat #mycology
theGardenBetty
January 15, 2015 at 9:23 pmBlogged on Garden Betty: Splish Splash: Bird’s Nest Fungi http://t.co/3kLRKWxQg5