the fungus that fires spores like a cannon
- Size
- Height: 0.5–1 cm
- Lifespan
- 1 years
- Diet
- Saprotrophic: feeds on decaying wood, bark and plant debris. Grows on fallen twigs, wood chips, mulch and woody debris in gardens, forests and disturbed ground.
- Habitat
- Grows on woody debris, wood chips, mulch and fallen twigs. Forms tiny, cup-shaped fruiting bodies that look like miniature bird's nests with small disc-shaped eggs inside.
- Range
- Throughout North and South Islands on woody debris in gardens, forests and disturbed ground. Most common in lowland areas with abundant mulch and wood chips. Found worldwide.
- Endemism
- Native
- Main Threats
- None significant. Localised threats include use of fungicides in gardens and removal of woody debris from forest floors.
- Population
- A tiny, nest-shaped fungus on wood chips and mulch. The fruiting body looks like a miniature bird's nest with small disc-shaped eggs. When raindrops hit, the eggs are splashed out, dispersing spores.
- Conservation Status
- Not Threatened
The Bird's Nest Fungus is the tiny nest-builder of the garden, defined by a shape that seems impossible for a fungus. The fruiting body is a small, cup-shaped structure, no more than a centimetre across, grey to brownish-grey, with a shaggy, woolly outer surface that looks like felt. Inside the cup are several small, disc-shaped structures called peridioles, each about two millimetres across, pale grey to cream, arranged neatly like eggs in a nest.
This is the fungus that looks like it was designed by a bird. The resemblance is so striking that it is hard to believe it is a coincidence. But the nest shape is not for decoration; it is a clever mechanism for spore dispersal. When a raindrop falls into the cup, it hits the peridioles with enough force to splash them out of the nest. Each peridiole is attached to the cup by a fine, coiled cord that unravels as it flies through the air, wrapping around twigs and leaves and anchoring the "egg" in a new location.
Biologically, the Bird's Nest Fungus is a saprotroph, feeding on decaying wood and plant debris. It is a common resident of gardens, parks, and forests, growing on wood chips, mulch, and fallen twigs. It is tiny, easily overlooked, but once you know what to look for, you will start seeing it everywhere. Those little grey cups on the mulch in your garden are not bits of trash; they are fungi, and they are busy recycling your garden waste into soil.
The Bird's Nest Fungus is also a master of rain-powered dispersal. The splashing mechanism is so effective that the peridioles can be thrown up to a metre from the nest, far enough to reach fresh piles of wood chips and new feeding grounds. It is a simple, elegant solution to the problem of how to move your spores when you are glued to a piece of wood and cannot walk.
To find a Bird's Nest Fungus is to find one of nature's most delightful surprises. It is not flashy. It is not brightly coloured. It is not edible or medicinal. It is just a tiny, perfect nest on a piece of mulch, waiting for the rain to launch its eggs into the world.