Toadstool

The fly agaric mushroom one of quite a few mushrooms that get called "toadstools." It's pretty posionous, so keep it out of your mouth! The name "toadstool" comes from the fact that people used to think that the mushrooms were poisoned by toads sitting on them.

There's a lot of folklore about these brightly-coloured forest fungi, which can spring up overnight as if by magic. They often grow in perfect circles because of the way their mycelium— a root-like mass of fungal threads— spreads out from a central point. In the British Isles, these were called "fairy rings" or "elf rings," because they were believed to spring up where the little people had been dancing. It was said that if you stepped into a fairy ring, you were taking your life into your own hands; you might find yourself transported to the land of the fairies, never a good idea for mortal folk!