It Starts With a Spore
How a Mushroom Grows Up▾
- 1It Starts With a Spore
- 2Threads in the Dark
- 3A Mushroom Pops Up
- 4Round and Round Again
A story with no beginning you can see
Where does a mushroom come from? Not from a seed, like a sunflower. A mushroom's story starts with something far, far smaller. It starts with a spore.
A spore is like a tiny fungus seed. But it is so small that thousands of them could fit on the head of a pin. You cannot see even one spore with just your eyes.
Floating, floating, floating
Right now, all around you, millions of spores are floating in the air. They are in your garden, in the park, and even inside your house. Spores are so light that the smallest puff of wind can carry them far away.
A mushroom makes spores so it can send its family somewhere new. Think of spores like tiny travellers, drifting on the breeze, looking for a good place to land.
What a spore needs
A spore cannot just grow anywhere. It needs the right spot to wake up and start its life. Spores look for a place that is:
Damp — a little bit wet, not dry
Full of food — like a fallen log, dead leaves, or rich soil
Cosy — sheltered from too much sun and wind
When a spore lands somewhere like this, it can begin to grow. If it lands somewhere dry and bare, like a hot pavement, it simply waits. Many spores never find a good spot at all, so a fungus makes huge numbers of them, just in case.
Fungi are their own kind of living thing
Here is something surprising. A mushroom is not a plant. It does not have leaves or make its own food from sunlight like a plant does. It is also not an animal. A mushroom belongs to its very own group of living things called fungi (say it: FUN-jai).
Fungi are so special that scientists give them their own kingdom, just like plants and animals have their own kingdoms. Yeast, mould, and mushrooms are all fungi, and they all begin life the same tiny way, as a spore.
A safe rule about wild mushrooms
You might spot mushrooms while on a walk outside. They are wonderful to look at, but never pick or touch wild mushrooms, and never eat them. Some look friendly but are not safe at all. The only mushrooms to eat are ones from a grow kit or a shop, always with a grown-up, and always cooked.
Next time you feel a breeze, remember: it might be carrying a tiny spore, starting a brand new story.
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