Mo Gu

Mo Gu is a generic Chinese term for edible mushrooms, most commonly applied to the cultivated button mushroom Agaricus bisporus (Agaricaceae) and related species. Agaricus bisporus produces a fleshy white to brown fruiting body consisting of a smooth, hemispherical to flat-convex cap that opens with age to reveal pink to dark-brown lamellae beneath, supported by a short cylindrical stipe bearing a fragile membranous ring. The cap surface is dry and may bear scattered fibrous scales in the brown (cremini/portabella) cultivars. Mycelium grows saprotrophically in decomposing organic matter — traditionally composted straw and manure in commercial cultivation — and the visible fruiting bodies emerge in flushes when conditions of humidity and temperature are appropriate. The mushroom has been cultivated globally for centuries.