Laura Strong, age 12, of Costa Mesa, Calif., for her question:

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MUSHROOM AND TOADSTOOL?

Botanists do not separate mushrooms and toadstools into two different groups. But people generally give the name mushroom to the kinds that can be eaten and toadstools to those that are poisonous.

Children usually think of all mushrooms as toadstools, and then avoid them all as being poisonous. It is good in many ways that this happens, since children should never eat anything that could possibly be unsafe. Also, only a skilled person can tell which mushrooms are safe and which contain deadly poisons    so all wild growing plants should be avoided.

There are about 38,000 known species of mushrooms. They are in the fungi family and grow in decaying vegetable matter. The name comes from the French word for moss.