Question
I have this strange thing growing in the mulch. It has a round white root, looks like a pingpong ball, with a long, pink stem and a black goo at the top of the stem. When I pull it up, the root doesn't seem to have anything inside it. I can't seem to find out what it is. Please help me. Thank you.

Answer
It appears to be a fungus of some sort. All I know about these fungi are that they can be (quite) poisonous and that they pop up quite dramatically when moisture and temperature conditions are right. They go away when these two conditions are unfavorable. It is not much but I hope it helps.
There are major diseases of plants which are caused by fungi. Brown patch on lawns, black spot on roses and powdery mildew crepe myrtle. Fungicides are the group of chemicals which control these.