Are All Fungus Reproductive Structures Mushrooms?
No. For example, you wouldn’t call the two-inch-across structures illustrated at the left mushrooms — even though the items shown there are indeed the spore-producing reproductive structures of a fungus, called False Turkey-tails (I wonder why?). These kinds of fungus reproductive structures aren’t usually considered to be mushrooms because to be thought of as a “real” mushroom, a fungal reproductive structure is usually thought of as having a mushroom shape, plus they must be more or less fleshy in texture. False Turkey-tails are not mushroom shaped, plus they are far too tough and leathery to eat. Actually, the term “mushroom” has no technical basis, so it’s pointless to debate about what is a mushroom and what isn’t. What’s the difference between mushrooms and toadstools? Essentially they’re the same thing, except that usually toadstools are thought of as poisonous mushrooms. The word “toadstool” is used only in a very informal and vague sense, so we’ll not use it again.
