Where can you find fungi?
Mushrooms (or toadstools) can be found almost anywhere, but they love to grow in damp, dark and murky places best. Look for them on old or fallen trees in the woods, in shady soil at your local National Trust site, or even in damp spots at the bottom of your garden.
You could help fungi to grow by leaving logs and branches to rot in a shady corner outside. Beetles and other little creatures will love you for it – they’d happily munch on mushrooms all day and the old logs will make a cosy home for them too.
Fun fact: Fungi aren’t plants, animals, or bacteria. They’ve their own groove going on and mould, yeast and mushrooms are all part of the fungi club.
Weird or wonderful?
When out on a fungi hunt, you will hopefully come across some really cool varieties with spectacular colours and unusual shapes. Will you find the jazzy yellow Lemon Disco, the Brain Mushroom (you can guess what that looks like), or the white and spiky Bearded Tooth fungus? There's so many strange and interesting varieties out there.
Some kinds of fungi are completely safe and delicious when cooked, while others can be extremely poisonous to humans and animals. You don’t get names like Death Cap, Destroying Angel and Funeral Bell for being the friendliest mushroom in the forest.
Make sure you check with an adult before you set off on your adventures. And please don’t touch fungi you find in the wild, unless you are with an expert and they say it’s okay.
