Welcome to You Ask Andy

Lucy Jo Rycodtage  SpanishFork,‑‑Utah for her question:

What causes toadstools on the lawn?

The toadstool plant may have been growing on your lawn for several years without you knowing, Most of‑its life is lived underground. For the major part of this fungus plant is a mesh of threads buried in the soil, The little umbrellas pop only when time comes to grow spores for new plants. Only then do you notice that you have toadstools on the lawn.

The little umbrellas are really the fruiting bodies of the toadstool plant. They appear when the weather is just right ‑. usually damp and warm. The spores are that dark powder on the underside of the umbrellas. At the right time, this dark powder pops out and blows away. Some toadstools spread their spores in an inky black fluid. But most are carried off by the wind.

Each little spore is too small for your eyes to see. It is small enough to float for miles and miles on the breezes. Only one in trillions will land on, suitable ground and have ‑a chance to grow into a plant. Originally, the toadstool plant on your lawn may have arrived from miles and miles away.  It was most likely carried there by a wandering breeze.

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