Mushrooms

We are going mushroom hunting this weekend so in anticipation, we did a brief Nature study on mushrooms. One of the first things that we learned is that mushrooms are a type of fungi. Some fungi are parasites which means that they steal food from a living plant and some fungi are saprophytes which means that they live off the remains of dead plants. Many types of mushrooms are edible but some are poisonous. Here are some ways to tell if a mushroom is poisonous:

1. They have scales.

2. The base of their stem is contained in a sac.

3. They have milky juices.

4. They have shiny, thin or brightly colored caps.

5. They have whitish or clay colored spores.

Whew! Good thing that we are going hunting with some experts. I'd probably be too nervous to hunt mushroom on my own....

Adam's drawing

My drawing