What are Fungi?
Fungi (mushrooms, molds, mycorrhizae, yeasts, rusts, etc.) are relatively unseen but important components of the environment. Together with the microscopic bacteria, protozoa, and microfauna they are key members of any terrestrial community whether it be a whole forest or a flower pot. Fungi are not animals or plants. Plants are able to produce their own food through photosynthesis which captures light energy and stores this energy in molecules such as carbohydrates (sugars, starch, cellulose). Fungi and animals digest other organisms to obtain energy and other nutrients. Animals typically eat’ food and digest it internally. Fungi have external digestion! They literally grow through their food secreting enzymes outside of their cells and absorbing the breakdown products. Fungi are able to do this because of their thread-like growth form. Fungal cells grow as extremely thin threads, called hyphae (from the Greek word for web), that form a branched network, a mycelium. The primary compon
Fungi are a kingdom of eukaryotic (their cells have nuclei) organisms. Other examples of biological kingdoms include Plantae, the plants, and Animalia, the animals. Common fungi include mushrooms, yeasts, and molds. Fungi are essential in decomposing dead organic matter in the soil, and without them, biological refuse would take much longer to degrade, making it difficult for the next generation of organisms to utilize the essential elements therein. Although fungi may look like plants, they are in fact more closely related to animals. The study of mushrooms is known as mycology. The key characteristic of fungi which sets them apart from other organisms are their chitinous cell walls. This durable material, chitin, also makes up the shells of many insects. Fungi tend to grow in filamentous structures known as mycelium, and reproduce either sexually or asexually via spores. In mushrooms, the spores are visible as black dust underneath the cap. Fungi have a long history of being utilized
We are expanding vPlants to provide information on the macrofungi of the Chicago region. Macrofungi are those fungi forming visible fruiting bodies, such as mushrooms, puffballs, and brackets. The identification of these species relies on characters of their fruiting bodies, and fruiting bodies are the source of specimen data and images on vPlants. Lichens (fungi symbiotic with algae) and the microfungi that do not form large fruiting bodies (or lack them), such as yeasts, molds, powdery mildews, rusts, and soil fungi, are not included on vPlants. Fungi were once treated as plants but botanists now consider them to make up a separate Kingdom Fungi. This group with tremendous diversity outnumbers species of plants. Like animals, and unlike plants, all fungi are consumers or scavengers that obtain food from other living or dead organisms. Fungi, though often unseen, provide critical roles as decomposers, pathogens, and mutualists. Decomposers (saprobes) recycle dead organic material, for
Fungi is the name given to a strange group of living things including mushrooms, toadstools, moulds and thousands of other weird and wonderful things. It’s safe to say that if you see something strange growing outside, and you’re not sure what it is, it’s probably a fungus. Unlike plants, Fungi cannot produce their own food. Instead they absorb nutrients from their surroundings. Types of Fungi can be very different, for example they can be colourful and jelly-like, brown and slimy, green and dusty or tall and white. They are a truly fascinating group of organisms and have been studied by people for hundreds of years. Some fungi are good to eat, for example, the Parasol mushroom, and the blue mould that gives Stilton cheese its strong taste. We also use yeast, which is a fungus, to produce bread and beer. Others like the Death Cap and the Destroying Angel mushrooms are deadly poisonous. Some fungi can cure human illnesses. For example, penicillin is an important medical drug, produced b
