Fruiting body of a fungus that grows above earth, on soil, or on its feeding source; common names include mushroom and toadstool. A venomous toadstool is typically denoted by the term “toadstool.” [1]
Mushrooms are fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) with a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap. The white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, is the standard for the name “mushroom,” hence the term is most commonly given to these organisms. The fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota are also referred to as “mushrooms,” despite the fact that the name “mushroom” can be used to describe a wide range of gilled fungi, stemmed or otherwise. These gills create minute spores that the fungus then uses to disperse throughout the ground or whatever it is growing on.
Mushrooms with unusual morphologies are typically given more specific names like “bolete,” “puffball,” “stinkhorn,” and “morel,” whereas gilled mushrooms are sometimes referred to as “agarics” because of their resemblance to Agaricus or the order Agaricales. The name “mushroom” can also refer to the complete fungus when grown in a lab, the thallus (also known as mycelium) of species that produce mushrooms, or the species itself.
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