Your right, mushrooms don't effect the plant at all. The conditions where just right if they sprouted, because they like a somewhat shaded area and moist soil. The mushroom spores probably came from un-sterilized soil, or maybe it was just a few spores that blew in.I had some small yellow one's (don't know the name) growing with my indoor Areca palm and just left them there for color! Just make sure the plant likes moist soil. You can either leave the mushrooms where they are (they don't seem to live long) or pull them out. Billy Rae

Are you sure it is a fungus? If it is hard I would suspect hard water deposits on the surface of the soil.

Mycorrhizal fungi are different than leaf mold. They have a unique symbiotic relationship with plant roots that no other fungus has. Mycorrhizae live on plant roots, feeding on plant exudates. In return, they act kind of like 'hair extensions' for the roots, absorbing water and nutrients and delivering them to the plant. Mycorrhizae are naturally present in really good soils, but it doesn't hurt to add a bit to the roots at planting time. I've used it for a few years now and it definitely makes a difference, especially when planting shrubs and trees. I've purchsed it under the Root Boost brand from Gardens Alive, and I 've also found a different brand at my local nursery.

The top half of photo 5 also might be creeping charlie (which my niece discribes as smelling like herbal shampoo) AKA Glechoma - photo 2 might be also. I agree with Nepeta (cat mint, not catnip) on 1, thyme on photo 3 Not sure about the bottom half of 5. 4 might be Rudbeckia with perhaps wild carrots (feathery foliage which would smell like carrots if it is) AKA Queen Anne's lace.