Aliens in our cellar.

I've just spotted some weird life forms growing on a step in our cellar at the Old Post Office in Bridge Street, Belper..


These are, of course the fruiting bodies of a fungus. They are about 10 cm in diameter and are growing inside the cellar on soil left behind after flooding. When the Severn Trent sewers overflow following a cloudburst the floor of the cellar is coated with fine mud and other "nutrients"  deposited by the water.  The timber you can see in the picture is not in contact with the fungus, the clay quarry tile separates it. The step is between two rooms in the cellar and mud tends to accumulate on it. I've since removed these fine specimens from the cellar.

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