A mushroom is a fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. The term mushroom describes a variety of gilled fungi, with or without stems. The gills are seen below in detail (blue).
![Mushroom]( "Mushroom image") |
| Photo: Captured in Strouds Run State Park, Athens, Ohio USA by Dan Molter |
The terms "mushroom" and "toadstool" go back centuries and were never precisely defined. Toadstool was often a term applied to poisonous mushrooms or to those that have the classic umbrella-like cap and stem form. In German folklore and old fairy tales, toads are often depicted sitting on toadstool mushrooms and catching flies.
