Life Mushroom

The Life Mushroom is a special type of Mushroom that appeared in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. They appear as a mushroom with a red-colored head and with stars on the sides of the head.

Super Mario Galaxy
In Super Mario Galaxy, when Mario collects a Life Mushroom, an extra circle containing three health points will be added to his Health Meter, increasing his health from 3 to 6. If Mario has 1 or 2 health sections left, the mushroom will refill his health to three before giving him 3 extra health points. Also, Mario's sections of health will turn green. However, if he takes damage from enemies or other obstacles up to three times without collecting a coin to regain health, his Health Meter will revert back to just 3 sections of health.

Life Mushrooms can usually be found in the level before a boss fight. They can be found on a hidden platform or even inside an Item Crystal, where they will start moving in a set path once freed from the crystal. They can also be purchased from the Luma Shop for 30 Star Bits, which causes the Luma to transform into a Life Mushroom.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
They reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and behave just as they did in the prequel. However, they appear to be much more common in this game than in the first. Unlike in Super Mario Galaxy, the player will receive a 1-Up if they collect another Life Mushroom while having all six health sections. If Mario collects a Life Mushroom without having all six health sections filled up, the Life Mushroom will only refill Mario's health. If they are not, then the second Life Mushroom will only refill the Health Meter back to six, instead of giving Mario a 1-Up.

Trivia

 * When Mario collects a Life Mushroom, the sound effect heard is the first five notes of the Super Mario Bros overworld theme.