Life Mushroom

A Life Mushroom is a special type of Mushroom that debuted in Super Mario Galaxy. Its appearance is a mushroom with a yellow-starred red cap.

Super Mario Galaxy
In Super Mario Galaxy, when Mario (or Luigi) collects a Life Mushroom, an extra circle containing three additional health sections will be added to his life meter, thereby increasing his overall health from three to six. The additional three sections will all be colored green. If Mario has only one or two health sections left when he first collects the Life Mushroom, then it will also refill his life meter back up to three before giving him the three extra health sections. If at any time Mario's life meter drops below four health sections (as a result of taking damage three times), his life meter will revert to a maximum of just three sections of health, and will remain that way until Mario is able to collect another Life Mushroom.

Life Mushrooms can be found in many areas throughout the game, including on hidden platforms and inside crystals or chests, as well as appearing from ? Coins. Life Mushrooms trapped inside crystals will immediately start moving away from the player once freed from the crystals by Mario's spin. In addition, Life Mushrooms can usually be found right before a boss fight, most often located somewhere within the immediate vicinity of the planet before a boss planet. In some cases, Life Mushrooms can even be acquired during a boss battle. They can also be purchased from a Lumalee for 30 Star Bits, which causes the Luma to transform into a Life Mushroom for the player to collect.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Life Mushrooms reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and behave just as they did in the previous game. They appear to be much more common in this game than in the first. Unlike in Super Mario Galaxy, the player will receive an extra life for every Life Mushroom they collect if they still have a full health bar after having already collected one; otherwise, the Life Mushroom simply refills Mario's (or Luigi's) health. Lumalees reappear and once again sell 1-Up Mushrooms and Life Mushrooms.

Mario Golf: World Tour / Mario Sports Superstars
In Mario Golf: World Tour and Mario Sports Superstars, when Rosalina gets an Eagle, Albatross, or Hole-in-One, in this animation with the Lumas, a Hungry Luma holds two mushrooms: the 1-Up Mushroom and the Life Mushroom.

Trivia

 * When Mario or Luigi collects a Life Mushroom, the sound effect heard consists of the first six notes of the Super Mario Bros. Ground Theme.

Max. Kraft-Pilz Fungo Energia