What are the steps of Mushroom Reproduction?

Question

What are the steps of Mushroom Reproduction?

Answer 1

Fungi is the name given to a strange group of living things including mushrooms, toadstools, moulds and thousands of other weird and wonderful things. It's safe to say that if you see something strange growing outside, and you're not sure what it is, it's probably a fungus.

Unlike plants, Fungi cannot produce their own food. Instead they absorb nutrients from their surroundings.

Types of Fungi can be very different, for example they can be colourful and jelly-like, brown and slimy, green and dusty or tall and white. They are a truly fascinating group of organisms and have been studied by people for hundreds of years.

Mushroom Reproduction: Mushrooms produce spores which are spread and grow into new fungi. The mushroom is the "fruiting body" of the fungus. Despite being called a "fruiting body", the mushroom does not produce fruit, but produces spores.

If you see a mushroom growing, you are only looking at a small part of the entire fungus. Long strands of fungi spread out underneath the soil. As they grow, the strands absorb nutrients and water from their surroundings, providing energy for more growth. Eventually, mushrooms pop up, to spread spores through the air, many of which will land and grow into new fungi.

Some types of mushroom appear growing on the ground in a circle, in what is known as a "Fairy Ring

This is because the main fungus spreads outwards underneath the soil, like a growing puddle, and mushrooms pop up at the edges. The mushrooms are the reproductive parts of the fungus. If you look underneath the cap of a mushroom, you will see lots of slits, known as "gills". Spores grow on the surface of these gills. The spores are spread through the air, or by small animals, and grow into new fungi where they land. Most mushroom-like "fruiting bodies" only last a few days.