I test my skills of observation and my personal knowledge of fungi, and also have the pleasure of observing the life in the forest around me. Like any treasure hunt, finding mushrooms is a combination of knowledge and luck. Some people collect and identify mushrooms for the pleasure of studying them, the way bird watchers enjoy studying birds. Most people hunt for edible mushrooms. Many are good to eat and some are especially delicious, such as morels and truffles.
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies produced by some fungi.
Not all fruit bodies are true mushrooms. The function of this visible part of some fungi is to produce and release the largest possible number of spores in the shortest possible time. Spores create new individuals after being carried away on the wind and landing in a good place for growth. True mushrooms typically look like umbrellas. They consist of a stalk topped by a flat or cup-shaped cap.