Laura Smith
Ferns and mushrooms are distinct from each other in several ways. Ferns are classified under the kingdom Plantae, while mushrooms belong to the kingdom Fungi. Ferns are vascular plants with specialized tissues that transport water, nutrients, and food throughout the plant. They reproduce by spores, producing leaves called fronds. Ferns are also autotrophic, meaning they can perform photosynthesis to produce their own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. In contrast, fungi are heterotrophic, relying on absorbing nutrients from other organisms or decomposing dead organic matter. They do not engage in photosynthesis, and their cell walls contain chitin, a key distinction from ferns, whose cell walls are made of cellulose. While ferns and mushrooms differ in many ways, some ferns have evolved relationships with fungi, with some ferns depending on their companion fungus for protection and nutrition.
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What You'll Learn
Ferns are classified under the kingdom Plantae and are vascular plants
Ferns are not mushrooms. They are classified under the kingdom Plantae and are vascular plants. They are seedless plants with vascular tissue, including xylem and phloem, which conduct water and nutrients. Ferns reproduce via spores and lack seeds and flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular and having megaphylls, or complex leaves with more than one vein, giving them their characteristic "finger" look.
Ferns were traditionally classified in the class Filices and later in a division of the Plant Kingdom called Pteridophyta or Filicophyta. However, Pteridophyta is no longer recognised as a valid taxon. Ferns are also referred to as Polypodiophyta or, when treated as a subdivision of Tracheophyta (vascular plants), Polypodiopsida. This name sometimes refers specifically to leptosporangiate ferns.
The grouping of ferns with other vascular plants, such as clubmosses, spikemosses, and quillworts, is polyphyletic. Recent genetic studies have shown that these other groups are more distantly related to ferns and other vascular plants. Whisk ferns and horsetails, on the other hand, are closely related to leptosporangiate ferns.
Ferns are the most common and well-recognized examples of vascular seedless plants. They have a life cycle known as alternation of generations, with alternating diploid sporophytic and haploid gametophytic phases. The gametophytes of ferns, called prothalli, are free-living and develop after spores germinate. Fern fronds, or leaves, start as croziers or fiddleheads that unfurl into their full form.
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Fungi have their own kingdom and are more closely related to animals
Ferns are not mushrooms. Mushrooms are fungi, and there are around 148,000 known species of fungi, with estimates of the total number of species ranging from 2.2 to 3.8 million. Fungi have their own kingdom, separate from plants and animals, and distinct characteristics that separate them from other kingdoms. Fungi, like animals, are heterotrophs, acquiring food by absorbing dissolved molecules and secreting digestive enzymes into their environment. They do not photosynthesize.
Fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants. Scientists have discovered that fungi split from animals around 1.538 billion years ago, whereas plants split from animals around 1.547 billion years ago. This means that fungi and plants shared a common ancestor before plants and animals did, making fungi and animals more closely related to each other than either is to plants.
Fungi have their own kingdom due to their unique characteristics, which separate them from other kingdoms. The kingdom is called Eumycota, or the true fungi, and it includes all fungi that share a common ancestor, forming a monophyletic group. This interpretation is supported by molecular phylogenetics. Fungi have chitin in their cell walls, a feature that places them in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists.
The fungus kingdom is immense and largely untapped, with a vast potential that is only beginning to be understood. Fungi are dynamic and responsive, able to evolve and develop new strategies for survival. They communicate with each other by releasing chemical signals and creating underground networks. Fungi reproduce through various methods, including spores that can travel through the air or water, or with the help of animals.
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Ferns reproduce by spores and have leaves called fronds
Ferns are non-flowering, seedless, vascular plants that reproduce by spores and have leaves called fronds. They are believed to have first arisen between 420 and 360 million years ago, with some species as old as the Carboniferous Period (around 358.9 million years ago). Ferns are most commonly found in the tropics, with smaller numbers of species in Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Ferns differ from seed plants in that they reproduce by spores rather than having flowers and producing seeds. The green, photosynthetic part of the plant is technically a megaphyll, often called a frond. New leaves typically expand by unrolling from a tight spiral called a crozier or fiddlehead. The fronds arise from an underground stem or rhizome, from which the roots also extend and absorb water and nutrients.
The lifecycle of a fern involves two stages. In the first stage, spores are produced by sporophytes in sporangia, which are clustered together in sori (singular: sorus) on the underside of fertile fronds. In the second stage, the spores are released, settle on the soil, and send out rhizoids, developing into a structure called a gametophyte. The gametophyte produces gametes, which self-fertilize to create a zygote that grows into a sporophyte plant. Ferns can also reproduce through clonal spreading.
Fern spores are rich in lipids, proteins, and calories, making them a food source for some vertebrates, such as the European woodmouse and the bullfinch. Ferns are distinguished by their ability to disperse by spores and their capacity for self-fertilization, which contributes to their successful long-distance dispersal and establishment in new environments.
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Fungi can be unicellular or multicellular, unlike ferns
Ferns are not mushrooms. They are epiphytes or terrestrial plants with above-ground creeping stolons and erect semi-woody trunks. Ferns are spore-producing plants that reproduce by releasing spores instead of having flowers and producing seeds. They are polysporangiophytes, with sporophytes that branch and produce many sporangia.
Fungi, on the other hand, are a diverse group of organisms that can be unicellular or multicellular. Some fungi, like yeast, are unicellular, while most others are multicellular. Fungi have a complex cellular organization and are heterotrophic eukaryotes, meaning they must use existing organic compounds as a source of carbon. They are closely related to animals and have cells that contain a nucleus, mitochondria, and a complex system of internal membranes, including the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus.
The morphology of fungi varies, with some having a tangle of slender, thread-like structures called hyphae, and others producing reproductive units (spores) through a structure called a fruiting body. Some fungi are parasitic, infecting either plants or animals, and causing infections such as athlete's foot and candidiasis in humans.
Unlike ferns, fungi do not have chloroplasts or chlorophyll, and they are not of major economic importance. Ferns have been used for food, medicine, biofertilizer, ornamental plants, and soil remediation, while some fungi are known for their parasitic nature and ability to cause infections.
Fungi exhibit a wide range of body plans and lifestyles, and some can even switch between a unicellular and multicellular state depending on environmental conditions. This adaptability sets them apart from ferns, which have a more consistent form and function.
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Ferns can perform photosynthesis, unlike fungi
Ferns are often mentioned in the same context as fungi and mushrooms, but they are not the same. Ferns are a type of plant, while fungi are not. Ferns have roots, shoots, and leaves, whereas fungi do not. Fungi are more closely related to animals than plants.
Ferns and fungi have very different methods of sourcing energy. Ferns can perform photosynthesis, unlike fungi. Ferns have a low photosynthetic capacity compared to seed plants. Their photosynthesis is limited by physical CO2 diffusion from the atmosphere to chloroplasts. Ferns have low mesophyll conductance to CO2, which is associated with thick cell walls and reduced chloroplast distribution. On the other hand, fungi cannot source their energy from the sun via photosynthesis. Instead, they release enzymes into the environment that digest organic matter and then absorb it. Fungi have cell walls made of chitin, while plant cell walls are made of cellulose.
Fungi play an important role in ecosystems by recycling nutrients. They use digestive enzymes to break down wood and other plant matter, preventing the buildup of dead wood and leaves in forest ecosystems. Fungi also form the basis of many products that humans rely on daily, such as food, drink, and medicines. For example, the antibiotic Penicillin is derived from the fungus Penicillium rubens.
While ferns can perform photosynthesis, their photosynthetic capacity is not well understood. Studies have been conducted to understand the reasons for the low photosynthesis in fern species and the impact of leaf mesophyll anatomy on their photosynthetic functioning. These studies have found that ferns have a lower photosynthetic capacity than angiosperms and that their response to environmental drivers may be altered due to stronger diffusional control.
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Frequently asked questions
No, ferns are not mushrooms. Ferns are classified under the kingdom Plantae and are vascular plants, meaning they have specialized tissues that transport water, nutrients, and food throughout the plant. On the other hand, mushrooms are a type of fungus, which belong to their own kingdom, Fungi, and are more closely related to animals on a genetic level.
Ferns are autotrophic, meaning they can perform photosynthesis to produce their own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. Mushrooms, on the other hand, are heterotrophic, meaning they cannot produce their own food. Instead, they absorb nutrients from other organisms or decomposing dead organic matter.
An example of a fern is the common bracken fern, which can be found in forests and fields. Mushrooms, being a type of fungus, can be found in diverse environments, including soil, dead organic matter, and living hosts.
Ferns and mushrooms do share some similarities. For example, both ferns and mushrooms evolved during a time when the only plants growing on land were moss and fungi. As a result, many ferns developed relationships with certain fungi that are necessary for their survival.
