Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Decomposer

Biome

Tropical rainforest

Range

Worldwide

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Spores

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

A small, vivid yellow mushroom that pops up uninvited in the soil of potted houseplants, often carried in as spores on bagged potting mix. Its cap starts egg-shaped before flattening into a ridged parasol, and the whole fruiting body can fade to a paler yellow within days.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   spore

   A microscopic spore drifts on air or water and germinates where moisture and substrate meet.
2. 2.
   mycelium

   A thread-like mycelium spreads through the substrate, breaking it down into nutrients.
3. 3.
   fruiting body

   A mature fruiting body emerges to release the next generation of spores.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Fungi

Phylum

Basidiomycota

Class

Agaricomycetes

Order

Agaricales

Family

Agaricaceae

Genus

Leucocoprinus

Species

Leucocoprinus birnbaumii