How do mushrooms reproduce?

A mushroom is only the fruiting body of a fungus; the main organism is a hidden network of thread-like hyphae, called mycelium, spreading through soil or wood. When conditions are right, the mycelium pushes up a mushroom whose job is to produce and scatter spores. In many species, spores form on thin gills under the cap and are released into the air, where even a gentle breeze carries them away. A single mushroom can release millions or even billions of spores. When a spore lands somewhere damp with food, it germinates and grows new hyphae, which can join with a compatible partner to form a new mycelium.