Bathroom mushroom

Elizabeth.M · #1 (**permalink**) 29-09-2008, 02:38 PM

I am a student living in a rented house with a damp problem. Today as I stepped out of the shower I noticed a small mushroom had grown from under the skirting board

I think it's quite sweet, but my housemates are not too keen, we were wondering what type it is and whether it is edible. We live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

The mushroom is about 4cm tall, has a round flattish head about the size of a fifty pence piece and a slender pale stem. The head is pale brown.

I can't work out how to attach the photo I have taken

so I hope my description is adequate.

thanks

Liz

Elizabeth.M · #2 (**permalink**) 29-09-2008, 02:45 PM

OK, this will hopefully add the image of my mushroom:

Liz

BROCSMAN · #3 (**permalink**) 29-09-2008, 04:51 PM

Could be Pluteus Cervinus, which grows on dead wood. Can't be sure from your photo, and I've never heard of it growing indoors.

If so it would technically be edible, (although I've never heard of anyone who has done so) and I strongly recommend you NOT to consider doing so.

The Woodman · #4 (**permalink**) 29-09-2008, 05:09 PM

If I was thinking on Liz, I would have picked the splendid specimen I saw growing in the gents in a Kendal Indian restaurant to go with yours if you are that hungry!

Watch you dont get the spores under your wet toenails because they can grow really quickly in the warmth of a lecture hall.

I'm interested by the white growth to the left of the fungi at the bottom of the wall - what will this grow into?

alge · #5 (**permalink**) 29-09-2008, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Woodman

I'm interested by the white growth to the left of the fungi at the bottom of the wall - what will this grow into?

it looks like a plastic blob to me so it may take a while i hope you have a spare 1000 years or so

Hi liz thanks for the reminder of why i'm glad i dont live in digs anymore, I'd get on to your housing guys over that. good luck with your new place

Wild-Woman · #6 (**permalink**) 29-09-2008, 05:33 PM

I'm sure your landlord would be more than happy to reduce your rent! Goodness me, they surely can't expect you poor students to live in such conditions.
I think I'd be inclined to take that shot to your landlord and ask for some measures to reduce or eliminate the damp. This can't be healthy.

Elizabeth.M · #7 (**permalink**) 29-09-2008, 06:31 PM

thanks guys, I will keep my socks on and I wasn't seriously considering eating it, I just hoped it wasn't actively poisonous! The white blob is plastic, not another fungus - I just can't believe we didn't notice it growing! Luckily we have an upstairs bathroom, the one where the mushroom is is a basement bathroom - the Landlord came over today, I told him we had a "damp problem" and he tried to convince me that the room was fully damp-proof - I beg to differ! He has promised a dehumidifier, so hopefully that will help. Thankyou for the comments

Liz

fairplay · #8 (**permalink**) 29-09-2008, 08:41 PM

I'm tempted to tell you about the drunk male students that tend to miss the bowl or sometimes fail to reach the bathroom in time, but I don't want to put you off your food (little fungi ).