What are mushrooms?

After the rain, little umbrella shapes pop up on the forest floor. They look a bit like plants, but they are not green and they have no leaves or flowers. So what exactly is a mushroom?

Not a plant — a fungus

A mushroom is a fungus. Plants are green and make their own food from sunlight, but a fungus cannot do that. Instead it finds food another way, which makes it its own special kind of living thing — not a plant and not an animal.

A hidden web underground

The mushroom you see is only the top part, like the tip of an iceberg. Most of the fungus lives underground as a huge web of fine white threads. These threads spread out and feed on rotting leaves, dead wood, and other bits that fall to the ground.

Tidy helpers of the forest

By eating those rotting bits, fungi keep the forest clean and turn old leaves back into rich soil for new plants. They are like the recycling team of the woods!

Important: never eat a wild mushroom you find. Some are tasty, but others are poisonous and can make you very sick. Only a grown-up expert can tell which is safe.

Wonder fact: One giant fungus in America spreads through the soil over an area bigger than 1,000 football fields — it may be the largest living thing on Earth!