Mushroom Facts for Kids

A bowl of mushrooms
  • Name: Mushroom, Mushrooms
  • Type of Food: Fungi / Vetegable
  • Produced From: Fungus
  • Total Calories: 15 calories (one cup, 70 grams)
  • Total Fat: 0 grams (one cup, 70 grams)
  • Total Protein: 2 grams (one cup, 70 grams)
  • Total Carbohydrates: 2 grams (one cup, 70 grams)

26 Mushroom Facts for Kids

  1. Mushrooms are the edible fruity bodies of fungi that can been seen with the naked human eye.
  2. A mushroom is not a plant, it’s part of a fungus.
  3. Not all mushrooms are safe to eat, wild mushrooms can be toxic and deadly if consumed.
  4. There are many wild and commercially grown mushrooms that are safe for consumption.
  5. There are over 20 different species of mushrooms commercially grown worldwide.
  6. The practice of commercially growing mushrooms is called fungiculture.
  7. A few mushrooms that are safe for consumption are portobello mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms and morel mushrooms.
  8. Mushroom hunting is the practice of searching for and gathering wild mushrooms that are safe for consumption. It’s important to mention that only experienced mushroom hunters to gather and eat wild mushrooms.
  9. A mushroom is sometimes referred to as a toadstool.
  10. The largest producer of edible mushrooms in the world is China.
  11. The white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) is the most commonly grown and eaten mushroom.
  12. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains 15 calories.
  13. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains no fat.
  14. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains no cholesterol.
  15. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains 4 milligrams of sodium
  16. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains 2 grams of carbohydrates.
  17. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains 1 gram of dietary fiber.
  18. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains 1 gram of sugar.
  19. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains 2 grams of protein.
  20. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains 5 micrograms of vitamin D.
  21. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains 3 milligrams of vitamin C.
  22. One cup of mushrooms (sliced, 70 grams) contains 221 milligrams of potassium.
  23. A mushroom called the death cap (Amanita phalloides) is highly toxic and is responsible for most fatal mushroom poisonings around the world.
  24. The death cap mushroom is dangerous because its appearance can vary and looks like other species of mushrooms. The straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) is commonly confused with the death cap mushroom.
  25. According to the Guinness World Records, the longest edible mushroom reached a length of 1 foot and 11.22 inches. This record was set by the HOKUTO Corporation on July 25th, 2014 in Japan.
  26. According to the Guinness World Records, the largest living organism is a single gigantic specimen of honey mushroom (Armillaria ostoyae) and covers 2,385 acres. This specimen is estimated to be between 2,400 and 8,650 years old.

Additional Resources on Mushrooms

  • Mushrooms – Learn all about mushrooms on the USDA Snap-Ed Connection website.
  • Learn About Mushrooms – Read about mushrooms on the National Institute of Health website.
  • Mushroom Facts – Find more mushroom facts for kids on the MDC website.
  • Mushroom – Wikipedia – Discover more awesome facts about mushrooms on the Wikipedia website.

About the author
Facts Editor

This is an author profile for articles that are created from a collaborative effort. It is not uncommon that articles on this site were either written, researched or fact checked by several authors and team members. So this author profile will be displayed to reflect that. Our team of editors, writers and fact checkers do extensive research before publishing articles on the site, and we do our best to provide the most accurate information possible.