Substrate

Dung

In mycology, fungi whose favorite or only substrate is animal excrement (horse manure, cow pats, wild animal droppings) are called coprophilous.

Although this substrate looks off-putting to people, from a biochemical point of view dung is an ideal, incredibly rich source of half-digested plant fiber (cellulose), nitrogen and minerals.

3 species in the database.

How do spores get into dung?

The life cycle of many coprophilous fungi is closely tied to animals. Herbivores (cows, horses) eat grass along with fungal spores. The spores pass through the animal's entire digestive tract without being damaged by stomach acid. What's more, this journey actually activates them. When the spores come out with the dung, they are already inside a warm, moist substrate, ready to germinate quickly.

The best-known coprophilous fungi

1. Ink caps (Coprinus / Coprinopsis): Their very name points to their favorite substrate. The shaggy ink cap (a delicious edible mushroom) often grows near stables, on well-manured pastures or on manure heaps. Their mycelium works like a filter, so the fruiting body is perfectly clean and doesn't smell of the substrate.

2. Panaeolus and Psilocybe: Many species in these genera (including hallucinogenic ones) are strict coprophiles. For example, Psilocybe cubensis grows only on cow or horse dung in tropical and subtropical climates.

3. Dung roundhead (Stropharia semiglobata): A small slimy mushroom on a thin stem, often seen on horse manure along forest roads.

4. Field and button mushrooms (Agaricus): Although the button mushroom (the one sold in supermarkets) grows on soil, it fruits best on compost made up of 80% horse manure.

Questions and answers

Is it safe to eat a mushroom (for example, an Agaricus or an ink cap) if it grew right on a dung heap?

Yes, absolutely. A mushroom doesn't "soak up dirt". Its mycelium breaks organic matter down into basic chemical building blocks (carbohydrates, minerals). The fruiting body forms clean, sterile and safe to eat. Of course, before cooking, trim the stem carefully so that bits of substrate don't end up in your basket.

Sources

1.Зерова М.Я. та ін. Визначник грибів України. 1979
2.Roger Phillips. Mushrooms (Roger Phillips)
3.David Arora. Mushrooms Demystified
4.Index Fungorum