Mushrooms are growing above ground on soil or on its food source. Mushrooms are not plants, they are a fungus eating organic matter, and do not photosynthesize like plants do. Many species of mushrooms appear overnight, expanding rapidly in size or scope. But not all mushrooms expand overnight; some grow very slowly and add tissue to their fruit-bodies by growing from the edges of the colony. Though mushroom fruiting bodies are short-lived, the underlying mycelium can itself be long-lived and massive. A colony of Armillaria Ostoyae in Malheur National Forest in the USA is estimated to be 2,400 years old, possibly older, and spans an estimated 9 km2. Images of mushrooms in this section were captured in Australia, France, Germany, Malaysia and Switzerland.

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