Fungus ID!
July 11, 2013 4:32 PM Subscribe
Found behind some shingles while new insulation was being installed. This is very near the dryer outlet, which had partly fallen back and so wasn't venting quite as well at it should. So the theory is that this is due to heat/moisture from the dryer. Also seems to only be on the surface. Is it anything to worry about? We have Exhibit A and Exhibit B. It's white/white-ish and very fibrous.
there's a ted talk about mycelium by a fungus expert...apparently it's just the best fungus ever (it's what does most of the work of breaking down leaves in nature...you see it a lot in piles of leaves) it tends to be very superficial, i.e. not going too deep below the surface. wipe it up with a damp paper towel (too avoid impregnating a sponge with spores), then maybe a quick wipe-down with a 10%bleach/water solution to keep it from coming back. it probably is from the dryer heat/moisture, but probably will not spread and def. won't eat your house.
posted by sexyrobot at 12:16 AM on July 12, 2013
posted by sexyrobot at 12:16 AM on July 12, 2013
Mycelium isn't a kind of fungus, but part of it.
posted by unmake at 1:47 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by unmake at 1:47 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
Wow, oh wow, is this question ever misanswered.
"This is mycelium" is the equivalent of identifying the type of tree as "a trunk".
Mycelium are basically every cell of almost every fungal body out there, except for their reproductive parts (which are called "mushrooms").
And because almost all mycelium are identical (white, stringy threads that separate and rejoin, forming 3-D nets), it takes one of two methods to positively identify them, even for professional mycologists:
1. Innoculate the spores in a sterile petri dish filled with a suitable growing medium, and keep them growing until they decide to reproduce. Then identify the fruiting bodies.
2. Perform a DNA test. This will only work if the particular species has been sequenced already.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:09 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
"This is mycelium" is the equivalent of identifying the type of tree as "a trunk".
Mycelium are basically every cell of almost every fungal body out there, except for their reproductive parts (which are called "mushrooms").
And because almost all mycelium are identical (white, stringy threads that separate and rejoin, forming 3-D nets), it takes one of two methods to positively identify them, even for professional mycologists:
1. Innoculate the spores in a sterile petri dish filled with a suitable growing medium, and keep them growing until they decide to reproduce. Then identify the fruiting bodies.
2. Perform a DNA test. This will only work if the particular species has been sequenced already.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:09 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
tenaciousmoon: Non-sporing mycelium will be white. Sporing mycelium will generally be green or black.Also: the color of the mycelium has nothing to do with whether it's "sporing" or not.
Meaning, this is not a mold and is most likely harmless.
No fungus is a mold. However, it isn't absolutely certain this isn't a mold. It merely looks more like a fungus than a mold.
And fungus are not "most likely harmless". Depending on species, they can deteriorate wood (Armillaria mellea is the number one cause of damage to lumbering forests), cause disease (athlete's foot is caused by a fungal species), and the spores can cause allergic reactions (boy, howdy, do they!).
posted by IAmBroom at 10:16 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
'"This is mycelium" is the equivalent of identifying the type of tree as "a trunk".'
First off, I did not anywhere say that the type of fungus was called 'mycellium.'
But myceluim is exactly what it is, and there is no way of simply looking at it to positively identify it as anything more than 'myceluim'.
I had assumed that the OP posted because they wanted to know whether it was bacteria or mold which tend to be common homeowner concerns. Since the OP indicated that they had identified and corrected the conditions leading to the growth, most likely what is there will not pose a future problem.
And fungus are not "most likely harmless". Depending on species, they can cause disease (athlete's foot is caused by a fungal species)
Myceluim growing under outdoor wooden shingles, will not give you Athletes foot.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 8:04 PM on July 12, 2013
First off, I did not anywhere say that the type of fungus was called 'mycellium.'
But myceluim is exactly what it is, and there is no way of simply looking at it to positively identify it as anything more than 'myceluim'.
I had assumed that the OP posted because they wanted to know whether it was bacteria or mold which tend to be common homeowner concerns. Since the OP indicated that they had identified and corrected the conditions leading to the growth, most likely what is there will not pose a future problem.
And fungus are not "most likely harmless". Depending on species, they can cause disease (athlete's foot is caused by a fungal species)
Myceluim growing under outdoor wooden shingles, will not give you Athletes foot.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 8:04 PM on July 12, 2013
It's mycelium - it's like the roots of the fungus, to make it simple - but looking at the mycelium with any less than a professional eye won't identify the fungus it's going to become. I'd skip the petri dish and start by pulling up the board and looking under it to see if there might not be an identifiable fungus under there; if not, let it be and watch and see what happens - it might turn into a real fungus yet.
It won't hurt you, but it might be a sign that the wood structure underneath the board(s) is wet and rotting. That's not for sure, though - if it's near a dryer, then it's near moist, hot air and that's probably enough to make it grow without having to have wet, rotten wood to grow on.
posted by aryma at 12:05 AM on July 13, 2013
It won't hurt you, but it might be a sign that the wood structure underneath the board(s) is wet and rotting. That's not for sure, though - if it's near a dryer, then it's near moist, hot air and that's probably enough to make it grow without having to have wet, rotten wood to grow on.
posted by aryma at 12:05 AM on July 13, 2013
tenaciousmoon: First off, I did not anywhere say that the type of fungus was called 'mycellium.'To a layman, you implied it. Your statement was confusing at best, and fairly useless.
tenaciousmoon: Myceluim growing under outdoor wooden shingles, will not give you Athletes foot.Tinea pedis grows in moist environs sheltered from UV, and does not need the human body to reproduce. So, unless you can prove your claim with serious studies, you're probably wrong, and should stop spreading these half-truths and guesses.
aryma: if not, let it be and watch and see what happens - it might turn into a real fungus yet.It already is a "real fungus", and wait-and-see is not a sensible homeowner solution for something that could be deteriorating the house structure.
Pull up shingles and see what's under there. For all you know, there could be a pipe leak feeding water onto it.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:42 AM on July 15, 2013
@ IAmBroom
"Tinea pedis grows in moist environs sheltered from UV, and does not need the human body to reproduce. So, unless you can prove your claim with serious studies, you're probably wrong, and should stop spreading these half-truths and guesses."
Unless you can prove your claim with serious studies that the fungus in the pictures is indeed Tinea pedis and will cause the OP athletes foot, you're probably wrong and should most certainly should stop spreading your half-truths and guesses.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 10:36 AM on July 15, 2013
"Tinea pedis grows in moist environs sheltered from UV, and does not need the human body to reproduce. So, unless you can prove your claim with serious studies, you're probably wrong, and should stop spreading these half-truths and guesses."
Unless you can prove your claim with serious studies that the fungus in the pictures is indeed Tinea pedis and will cause the OP athletes foot, you're probably wrong and should most certainly should stop spreading your half-truths and guesses.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 10:36 AM on July 15, 2013
OK, I'll simplify it for you:
You claim some pretty blatant falsehoods, such as "Sporing mycelium will generally be green or black." That's utter nonsense; mycelium don't change color when a fruiting body appears.
You claimed "fungus are most likely harmless"; I brought up one (of thousands) example of a not-harmless fungus. It's actually irrelevant whether or not Tinea pedis is growing on the OP's house; the point was there are many, common, pathogenic fungi, despite your claim that they are "unlikely". I notice you didn't try to overturn my claims that fungus can also harm wood and cause allergic reactions; try to see the forest, and not just the tree.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:03 AM on July 15, 2013
You claim some pretty blatant falsehoods, such as "Sporing mycelium will generally be green or black." That's utter nonsense; mycelium don't change color when a fruiting body appears.
You claimed "fungus are most likely harmless"; I brought up one (of thousands) example of a not-harmless fungus. It's actually irrelevant whether or not Tinea pedis is growing on the OP's house; the point was there are many, common, pathogenic fungi, despite your claim that they are "unlikely". I notice you didn't try to overturn my claims that fungus can also harm wood and cause allergic reactions; try to see the forest, and not just the tree.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:03 AM on July 15, 2013
IAmBroom
"You claim some pretty blatant falsehoods, such as "Sporing mycelium will generally be green or black." That's utter nonsense; mycelium don't change color when a fruiting body appears."
I guess I worded it incorrectly, should have been 'mold/bacteria' and not 'mycelium'. At times, people make mistakes when posting due to a great many variables and well, MeFi isn't encyclopedia britannica so most don't get all uppity about small errors when the overall point is still being conveyed. Get over it dude.
You claimed "fungus are most likely harmless"
I claimed that this particular fungus (that was the OP's question, not a broad discussion of all fungi in existence on earth) was most likely harmless given that there's not much of it. it is white, there appears to be no structural damage, there is no fruiting body or mold and the conditions that caused it to grow in the first place had been corrected. I still stand by that.
I notice you didn't try to overturn my claims that fungus can also harm wood and cause allergic reactions;
Now why would I do that? I'm not here to ague with everything you say and pick it apart to death even when theres some validity to it, that's what you're here for. I purposely forgot some punctuation in this post, try and find it so you can discredit everything I've said here, and have a Happy Monday.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 11:38 AM on July 15, 2013
"You claim some pretty blatant falsehoods, such as "Sporing mycelium will generally be green or black." That's utter nonsense; mycelium don't change color when a fruiting body appears."
I guess I worded it incorrectly, should have been 'mold/bacteria' and not 'mycelium'. At times, people make mistakes when posting due to a great many variables and well, MeFi isn't encyclopedia britannica so most don't get all uppity about small errors when the overall point is still being conveyed. Get over it dude.
You claimed "fungus are most likely harmless"
I claimed that this particular fungus (that was the OP's question, not a broad discussion of all fungi in existence on earth) was most likely harmless given that there's not much of it. it is white, there appears to be no structural damage, there is no fruiting body or mold and the conditions that caused it to grow in the first place had been corrected. I still stand by that.
I notice you didn't try to overturn my claims that fungus can also harm wood and cause allergic reactions;
Now why would I do that? I'm not here to ague with everything you say and pick it apart to death even when theres some validity to it, that's what you're here for. I purposely forgot some punctuation in this post, try and find it so you can discredit everything I've said here, and have a Happy Monday.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 11:38 AM on July 15, 2013
Sorry, my bad. I thought we were here to answer questions with facts and knowledge.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:27 PM on July 16, 2013
posted by IAmBroom at 12:27 PM on July 16, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Non-sporing mycelium will be white. Sporing mycelium will generally be green or black.
Meaning, this is not a mold and is most likely harmless.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 5:57 PM on July 11, 2013