Twisted Yellow Thing
First I will apologise for not taking a pic of this but things at home have been a bit topsy turvy as we had to get the vet out this afternoon, and I got a bit behindhand.
To get on with this, I was cutting the grass out front today and noticed a lot of yellow things growing in amongst the grass. Most are very small still but one or two were bigger. The biggest one was about 2 inches long and curled like a corkscrew. They are all bright yellow, and very firmly 'rooted' to the ground. There are no leaves, it's a single column of growth but I have never seen anything like it before.
What could it be? I have had a look in my 'mushroom & toadstool' book but can't find it.
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Hello maryplain, sorry to hear about the vet. Always stressful.
Could your mystery objects be Cordyceps militaris, a fungus that grows on buried butterfly, moth and insect pupae?
Could be corkscrew rush - Juncus. Is it a damp area?
More fungi to consider:
Clavulinopsis fusiformis
Clavulinopsis helvola
Clavulinopsis corniculata
Something like this?
http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Cuscuta_campestris_(Golden_Dodder).htm
Or like this (internet image)?
A possibility?
Not bright yellow, but yellowish cyclamen seed stems?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Oooh, that's a bit arty, dove. Turner prize coming up.
I google Imaged waterbutts' links and it looks most like this one: Clavulinopsis helvola
But Dove - what a beautiful picture, it looks like some kind of alien insect!
Thanks all for the suggestions.
A shame it wasn't Clavuliopsis corniculata as you could have made it into an interesting omelette. All the others are inedible, unfortunately.
Love the cyclamen seedheads. They would make a beautiful brooch.