Mushrooms belong to the Fungi group of species. They most commonly get their energy from decaying materials, because of the fact that they don't have any chlorophyll which means that they cannot produce their own food. They mostly grow in more temperate regions, during seasons in which the weather is relatively warm and moist. Mushrooms can be found in forests, pastures, meadows and on similar places. Mushrooms can come in different colors and forms. The most common mushrooms have short and thick stipes and caps that make them look a bit like umbrellas.

Inside these caps, one can mostly see thin sheets of flesh called gills. The gills grow from between the cap lining and the stipe. These gills produce spores which grow as the mushroom matures. At a certain age, the spores start to be dropped and blown away by the wind. Eventually, they settle to te ground, and gradually, from these spores, mycelium is formed. Finally, after the mycellium is strong and large enough, it starts to fruit mushrooms.

Some varieties of mushrooms are very tasty, but one must also keep in mind that there are also many species which are poisonous, so one must be careful when going mushroom hunting. There are also mushroom species which are not poisonous, but they are not edible either, because of their tough flesh or bad taste and/or smell. With time, one can learn to easily distinguish the various species of mushrooms, in order to greatly lower the possibility of confusing a certain edible species, with a species which is not edible.

Read more...