Substrate

Soil

If a mushroom's profile lists "Soil" (terrestrial) as the substrate, it means the fruiting body grows directly out of mineral soil, earth, sand or turf (grass root systems), without being tied to dead wood or a thick layer of fallen leaves.

This is the broadest category of mushrooms. Soil-dwelling (terrestrial) mushrooms produce the largest and most massive fruiting bodies, because they have access to the vast water reserves in the ground.

24 species in the database.

Two strategies for life in the soil

The mushrooms you see on the ground fall into two fundamentally different groups by the way they feed:

These mushrooms look as if they grow out of the soil, but in fact their mycelium, deep underground, wraps tightly around the roots of nearby trees. They don't feed on the soil itself.

- Porcini, red-capped scaber stalks, brown birch boletes

- Amanitas and the death cap

- Chanterelles, brittlegills, milk caps

They all grow on soil, but only in forests or near trees.

These mushrooms feed directly on dead organic matter that has rotted down and become part of the soil itself (humus). They don't need trees, so they can grow in the middle of an open field.

- Field mushrooms and relatives (Agaricus): Classic soil dwellers of pastures, meadows and steppes.

- Parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera): Grows on nitrogen-rich soil at forest edges and in fields.

- Fairy ring champignon (Marasmius oreades): Small, very tasty mushrooms that grow right in the grass on lawns and meadows, forming fairy rings.

- Ink caps: Grow on soils heavily enriched with organic matter or ash.

Questions and answers

Why are soil mushrooms often dirty and sandy after rain?

Because the fruiting body forms while still underground, it literally pushes the soil (or sand) apart as it emerges. If heavy rain falls at that moment, it beats sand particles onto the sticky cap (for example, on a yellow knight or a slippery jack). Such a mushroom can be very hard to wash clean — mycologists recommend brushing off the soil with a dry brush or peeling the skin off the cap.

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