mushroom
茸 centers on the mushroom as a living thing: a soft fungal growth, often edible, that appears in damp places.
茸 combines the plant radical 艹 with 耳, which likely contributes the sound. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the character has long been associated with mushrooms and soft plant growth.
The top 艹 suggests a plant, and the bottom 耳 looks like a soft, ear-shaped mushroom cap emerging from the ground.
For ジョウ, imagine a giant mushroom growing so tall that it casts a shadow over a whole field: shadow -> ジョウ, and the mushroom's cap blocks the sun.
mushroom
shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes); shitake
matsutake mushroom (Tricholoma matsutake)
oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)
enoki mushroom (Flammulina velutipes); winter mushroom; velvet shank; enokitake; enokidake
bracket fungus (Ganoderma lucidum); reishi mushroom
tawny milkcap mushroom (Lactarius volemus)
Astilbe microphylla (species of astilbe)
common mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)
Tricholoma fulvocastaneum (species of gilled mushroom)
glowworm
red milk mushroom (Lactarius hatsudake); hatsutake mushroom
Sarcomyxa edulis (edible mushroom species)
death cap (Amanita phalloides); death cup
Amanita caesareoides (edible mushroom species)
field mushroom (Agaricus campestris); meadow mushroom
common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum); warted puffball
panther cap (species of poisonous mushroom, Amanita pantherina)
bearded tooth fungus (Hericium erinaceum); lion's mane mushroom
penny bun (Boletus edulis); porcino; cep