Mushrooms - Information and art for kids
If you imagine a fairy or a gnome living in your garden, you will most probably imagine them living under a mushroom or toadstool.
Mushrooms can grow in our gardens or in the wild and there are many kinds of mushrooms. Some are poisonous, but some are safe to eat and to be used when cooking.
A mushroom is a fungus and it does not need to have sunlight like other plants.
Mushrooms are healthy and they contain certain vitamins and they are low in fat. You can read more about the benefits of eating mushrooms here.
Mushrooms has a few uses like
- you can use it in dishes you cook
- it can reduce blood pressure and regulate blood sugar
- it can serve as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant
- it can reduce stress
- it can help the immune system and even help fight cancer
A mushroom consists of more than 90% water and more potassium than a banana.
Although mushrooms are grown in many places across the world, the largest producer is China. They produce more than half of the mushrooms grown and used throughout the world.
Most mushrooms grown for human consumption today are done so in controlled, sterilized environments. The most popular type representing 90% of mushrooms consumed in the US is the White button mushroom. The brown version of Agaricus bisporus called the Crimini, and its mature version, Portobello, are both popular eatable mushrooms too.
There are a lot of people that will go out in the wild and identify and pic the edible mushrooms. You must have the right knowledge to do this, otherwise you may end up with poisonous mushrooms. These people are called a 'Mycophagist'.
There are a few mushroom varieties found in the wild that are highly poisonous. A number of these look like common edible species, therefore it can be risky collecting wild mushrooms without good knowledge for identifying mushrooms.
There are more than 30 species of mushrooms that glow in the dark. These mushrooms can actually light your way in the forest. The light it produces is called a 'foxfire'.
In the olden days, before they made synthetic dyes, mushrooms were used to naturally die fibers and wool. The mushroom dyes are organic and they can produce bright colours. You can do some research to find out how this is done.
