their cases and aredistributedby the wind. If the soil on which they land is
rich and moist, each spore will take rootand develop into a newmushroom
plant.
There are many different kinds of"mushrooms." Some are the edible
kind which you are now observing. Mushroomsarefascinating plants,and
they grow in a variety ofintriguingways. There are somethatgrow like shelves
on the cooler, shadedside of trees inmoistwooded areas. These are called
"shelf"or"bracket"mushrooms. Othersare called"puffballs"becausetheir
caps look like closed ball-likestructures.
There are over 60 varietiesofediblemushrooms. But there are also some
which arepoisonousto man as well as to insects andotheranimals. The most
commonpoisonous mushroomis known as the Amanita. Itcan easily be
distinguishedfrom its edible relative for it has a cup-likestructureat thebottom
of the fleshy stem and a ring of tissuehangingjustbelow its smokybrownor
smoothgrey cap. One type ofAmanitahas a wart-like,yellowish-orangecap.BUILDING AGLASS-ENCLOSED GARDEN OR TERRARIUM
Materials:An empty fishtank,coarse gravel or small pebbles,sand,rich
humusor leafmould(sometimes boughtunderthe nameof"gardenloam"),
a glass sheet to cover theterrarium,tap water, various ferns, mosses and fungus
plantsyou will collectyourselfoutdoors.