Elves’ umbrellas and toads’ stools
Fungi are strange little plants. They have no roots, stems, or leaves.
They look like umbrellas, or balls, or sponges, or horns, or even birds’
nests! They are white, or yellow, or orange, or purple, or even
polka-dotted—but seldom green. They usually grow in damp, dark places
in woods, in piles of rotting leaves, or on old trees and logs. And
sometimes they pop up on peoples’ lawns.
The fungi you probably know best are the ones called mushrooms. They
usually look like little umbrellas. In fact, people once believed that
elves used mushrooms for umbrellas when it rained.
Mushrooms are often called toadstools. Someone with a sense of humor
must have made up that name. But some mushrooms are just about the right
size and shape to make a comfortable stool for a fat toad.
Some mushrooms are good to eat. But some are poisonous and can kill!
Many people believe that poisonous mushrooms will turn a spoon or a coin
black, or will make water turn black, but that’s not true. There’s no
way to tell a good mushroom from a poisonous one unless you’re an
expert. So never eat a wild mushroom!
fly agaric mushrooms
morel mushrooms
club mushrooms
