Everything I know about Mushrooms

It is a slightly cold and damp autumnal day and I am in a park in Scotland, following my toddler discovering the wonders of trees, bushes and grass. Suddenly he points at a small cluster of mushrooms and looks at me curiously. I tell him, “do not touch,” and, for some reason, I take a photo. Snap. He laughs. We find more mushrooms. Snap. He laughs. That was how my journey with mushrooms began. Mushrooms have now become an interest of mine and the more I learn about them, the luckier I feel for having started this journey. What started as a fun thing to do when out walking with my toddler has now become something I study when I can. Below I outline what I have learned so far about mushrooms. What are mushrooms?Mushrooms are part of the fungi kingdom of organisms. Fungi are not plants, although they do often work together. What we think of as mushrooms are actually the fruiting body of the fungi, which is used to distribute the spores for the rest of the organism as part of its…