Sometimes toadstools seem to appear as if by magic on a lawn after a rainy day. But, of course, no magic is involved. Toadstools grow from spores. And toadstools and mushrooms are exactly the same thing.

There is no difference between them..
A typical mushroom consists of a cylindrical stem, or "stipe", supporting a circular cap, or "pil-eus". On the stipe is a collar known as a ring, or "annulus". Radiating from the stipe to the margin of the cap on its underside are gills, or "lamellae". This is where the spores are formed. Spores have a similar purpose to that of seeds, but they should not be confused with seeds. Spores are produced in great quantities. In fact, so many are produced by a mushroom, that there is a good chance the wind will carry some of them to spots favourable for growth.

If spore falls in a place that is warm and wet and where food is available, the spore, which consists of a single cell, begins to absorb nourishment. It grows by division until long chains of cells resembling threads are formed. Such a chain is called a "hypha". A tangle of them is called a "mycelium". At various points along the mycelium, tiny balls no bigger than pinheads develop and become mushrooms.

So you see that when mushrooms or toadstools seem to appear suddenly, it is really the end of a long process that started with the spores leaving some mushroom that could have been quite a distance away!