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You are here: Home / articles / The fungus that resembles a vintage shade umbrella – the parasol mushroom

The fungus that resembles a vintage shade umbrella – the parasol mushroom

April 27, 2017 by Paige Hudson

The parasol mushroom looks a bit like a button mushroom when it first pops out from the ground in late summer or early fall, but the cap quickly spreads out to resemble the vintage shade umbrella known as a parasol, and these mushrooms are popping up all over our yard right now!

You can listen to this post about the parasol mushroom or keep on reading.

Either way, you can download a set of free printables to help you make the most of your mushroom study!

  • FREE Mushroom Printables

The Parasol Mushroom

Parasol mushrooms are typically found in lawns or near the edge of the woods, especially those with oaks and pines. Like all mushrooms, they prefer a damp environment, so it is common for them to pop up overnight in your yard after several days of rain, which is what has been happening around here.

Remember that a mushroom is simply the fruiting body of a much larger network of mycelium under the ground. The fungi underground send out a fruiting body that consists of a stalk, cap, and gills that release spores, which help the fungi to reproduce.

The cap of the parasol mushroom typically has several brown scale-like marks on the top, which is another marker you can use to identify this mushroom.

The parasol mushroom begins as an egg shape and then over a day or so, the cap will spread and flatten out. The gills of the parasol mushroom are usually cream white and free from blemishes, making this mushroom beautiful to observe!

Fun Fact – Parasol mushrooms are great to observe, but not so great to eat unless you know what you are doing as many poisonous mushrooms mimic these. In fact, one of the varieties of parasol mushrooms, the green-spored parasol, is the most commonly consumed poisonous mushroom.

Links to Research

  • Parasol Mushrooms 
  • The Mushroom Diary – Parasol Mushrooms 
  • {Video} Poisonous Yard Mushroom – The Green-Spored Parasol Mushroom 

Parasol Mushroom Activity Ideas

  • Mushroom Hunt – Head outside and look for mushrooms in your yard! Observe the cap, stalk, and gills from a distance as some mushrooms are poisonous. 
  • Mushroom Spore Prints – Make a bit of mushroom art with these directions for making mushroom spore prints.

Filed Under: articles, biology, instascience, nature study, teaching science at home Tagged With: fall, fungi, instascience, mushrooms, spring, summer

Welcome to the Elemental Blogging Laboratory

 
profile picWelcome to the Elemental Blogging Laboratory, a.k.a. the Eb Lab. Here at the lab, I have the pleasure of sharing with you all my passion for mixing up solutions for homeschool science! My name is Paige Hudson. I am a homeschooling mom and science curriculum writer for Elemental Science.
 
Why do I call this blog the "Eb Lab"? It is because I am scientist at heart and by profession, so it pretty much spills into everything I do. I love to share tips and tools with fellow educators as they seek to share science with their students!
 
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