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Several mushrooms (enlarge)
The term mushroom refers to the above ground fruiting body (that is spore-producing structure) of a fungus, having a shaft and a cap; and in extension, refers to the entire fungus producing the fruiting body of such appearance, the former consisting of extensive threads or tubes called hyphae. In a broader sense, mushroom is applied to any visible fungus, or especially the fruiting body of any fungus.
The main types of mushrooms are agarics, boletes, chanterelles, tooth fungi, polypores, puffballs, jelly fungi, coral fungi, bracket fungi, stinkhorns, and cup fungi. Mushrooms and other fungi are studied by mycologists. The "true" mushrooms are classified as Basidiomycota (also known as "Club Fungi"). Others are classified by mycologists as Chytridiomycota (Chytrids), Zygomycota (Zygotye Fungi), and Ascomycota (Cup Fungi).
Mushrooms are used extensively in cooking many cuisines. However, a number of species of mushrooms are poisonous, often resembling edible varieties, and eating them can be fatal. Picking mushrooms in the wild is extremely risky - far riskier than gathering edible plants - and a practice not to be undertaken by amateurs. This riskiness is due to the fact that, while there are only about 400,000 species of plants worldwide, there are an estimated 1.5 million mushroom species. Further complicating this is the lower degree of variety in easily identifiable traits between mushroom species. People who collect mushrooms for consumption are known as mushroom hunters, and the act of collecting them as such is called mushroom hunting — an activity with a potentially deadly outcome that one should be well prepared for before attempting.
Crinipellis perniciosa mushroom
The fan-shaped basidiocarp of
Crinipellis perniciosa, a fungus
that infects cacao trees (enlarge)
One common method used to assist in identification of mushrooms is the spore print.
Psilocybin mushrooms possess hallucinogenic properties and are commonly known as "'shrooms". A number of other mushrooms are eaten for their psychoactive effects, such as Fly Agaric.
Currently, many species of mushrooms and fungi utilized as folk medicines for thousands of years are under intense study by ethnobotanists and medical researchers. Maitake, Shiitake, and Reishi are prominent among those being researched for their anti-cancer, anti-viral, and/or immunity-enhancement properties.
See also
External links
Any large detonation of explosives, including that from a nuclear weapon, produces a mushroom cloud, so named because its shape resembles a typical mushroom.