Mushroom

A mushroom (also called a toadstool) is the part of a fungi that is comparable to the fruit of a plant. Unlike plants, mushrooms do not use sunlight to generate energy for themselves. Some mushrooms are edible, and are used for cooking in many countries, such as China, Korea and Europe. Other mushrooms, however, are poisonous, and can cause severe illness or death if eaten. People who search for edible mushrooms are called mycophagists, meaning "mushroom eater", while the act itself is called "mushrooming". Mushrooms have been known to support bone health and to regulate blood sugar in diabetics. It is available in different colours and shapes.

 Kinds of mushrooms 
 Agarics (includes very poisonous, and hallucinogenic kinds)
 Boletus (includes poisonous and edible kinds)
 Chanterelles (edible)
 Coral fungi (usually edible)
 Cap fungi (usually edible) [citation needed]
 Jelly fungi (usually edible)
 Polypores (similar to boletes)
 Psychedelic (also known as shrooms)
 Puffballs (usually edible)
 Stinkhorns (usually edible, but has a stench)
 Tooth fungi

 Structure of mushrooms 
Most mushrooms have a stem and a cap. The bottom of the cap usually has gills to hold spores, however, some mushrooms, such as the Porcini, have pores under the cap.

 References 

 Other websites 

Identification
 Mushroom Expert
 MykoWeb
 An Aid to Mushroom Identification , Simon's Rock College
 Online Edible Wild Mushroom Field Guide 
 Mushroom Observer (mushroomobserver.org), a collaborative mushroom recording and identification project
 list of field guides to mushrooms , from the International Field Guides database

Research associations
 Mushroom Mania; the Newsletter 
 North American Mycological Association
 International Society for Mushroom Science 
 Pacific Northwest Fungi Online Journal