Mushrooms growing after boiled?

I bought some Reishi mushrooms from EBay 6 months ago, and made a tea from a few pieces. I simmered the strips for SEVERAL hours. Instead of throwing them away, I placed them, (did not mix into soil) on top of the large indoor pot I have with a 1" thick Avocado tree. They have been sitting on top of the soil for at least 2 months now, I didn't get around to mixing them into the soil when they didn't degrade. Yesterday I walked by the plant and found 4 new mushrooms growing from the soil, and 2 at the bottom/ outside of the clay pot. They appeared to be Reishi mushrooms, I threw them away, unsure how this could happen, I didn't just heat them, I had them at a low boil for hours, and yet I am guessing they still have spores? Has this ever happened to anyone else?

That's a very interesting anecdote. It doesn't make sense to me. Being boiled should have killed the mushroom and mycelium. Many houseplants have mushrooms in them. It's also possible that you put spores into the houseplant before the cooked mushroom. I don't know.
John S
PDX OR

Exactly! very confusing, I should also mention, this has not happened in the past 5 years with this plant, and no mushrooms grew in the other 5 planters sitting in a row next to the avocado. (1 is another older avocado, a Peace Plant and a few others my wife likes).