John Miller
Mushrooms are living organisms that belong to the Fungi Kingdom. They are distinct from plants and animals, as they obtain energy from decomposing plant and animal matter rather than sunlight. This versatility allows mushrooms to thrive in various environments, from dark, damp places like caves to sunny spots like lawns. With over 14,000 mushroom species, they exhibit diverse shapes, sizes, and colours, making it challenging to distinguish edible from poisonous varieties. As decomposers, mushrooms play a vital role in breaking down dead organic material, contributing to the creation of soil and supporting the growth of other living organisms. Fungi, including mushrooms, have also found numerous applications in human activities, such as food production, medicine, and environmental processes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Fungi |
| Energy Source | Decomposing plant and animal matter |
| Habitat | Dark, damp places like under logs or inside caves, but also in sunny spots like lawns or tree sides |
| Anatomy | "Cap" or top, supported by a "stalk" or stem; gills underneath the cap hold spores |
| Water Content | 90% |
| Related Organisms | More closely related to humans than plants |
| Edibility | Some mushrooms are edible, while others are poisonous |
| Age | Evolved between 715 and 810 million years ago |
| Body | Only part of the fungus's body is visible; the rest is underground |
| Reproduction | Spores germinate to form a hypha, which grows into a network of connected hyphae called a mycelium |
| Communication | May create a communication network between plants through their roots, alerting them to disease, pests, and food availability |
| Relationships with Other Organisms | Parasitic, commensal, and mutualistic relationships; saprophytic mushrooms play an essential role in creating soil, enabling other organisms like trees to live and receive nourishment |
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What You'll Learn
Mushrooms are part of the Fungi Kingdom
Mushrooms are indeed living organisms and are part of the Fungi Kingdom. They are distinct from plants and animals, having diverged from them around one billion years ago, at the start of the Neoproterozoic Era. Fungi are primarily composed of water (69-90%), carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. They are some of the most widely distributed organisms on Earth and are of great environmental and medical importance.
The kingdom Fungi is composed of seven phyla: Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, Glomeromycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Chytridiomycota, and Microsporidia. Two of these phyla, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, are considered the main phyla or higher fungi and are contained within the subkingdom Dikarya, which includes all mushrooms. The Basidiomycota phylum includes most edible mushrooms, as well as several plant and human pathogens. The Ascomycota phylum includes most food spoilage molds, plant pathogenic fungi, and yeasts used in brewing, winemaking, and breadmaking.
Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi, which are the visible components of a vast organism that often stretches for long distances underground. They are formed when the underground network of connected hyphae, called a mycelium, produces a new fruiting body. Mushrooms get their energy from decomposing plant and animal matter, absorbing nutrients from dead organisms and sometimes from living ones. This is in contrast to plants, which get their energy from the sun, and this allows mushrooms to grow in dark, damp places like under logs or in caves, as well as in sunny spots.
The largest and oldest living creature on Earth is a mushroom and mycelial network found in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, covering 2,384 acres. Mushrooms are also a source of food for humans, with some of the most cultivated edible mushrooms being shiitake, oyster, wood ear, and button mushrooms. However, some mushrooms are poisonous, and it can be dangerous to pick and eat mushrooms found in the wild.
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They are not plants
Mushrooms are living organisms, but they are not plants. They are part of the Fungi Kingdom, which is profoundly different from the Flora Kingdom (plants). Fungi are more closely related to humans than they are to plants.
Fungi have their own unique traits that are not found in plants or animals. They reproduce using spores, which are not the same as the seeds of plants. Spores are asexual and extremely lightweight, allowing them to travel on gentle air currents.
Fungi also have distinct respiratory processes. Unlike plants, which take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, fungi require oxygen to thrive and expel carbon, similar to human respiration.
Additionally, mushrooms obtain their energy from decomposing plant and animal matter rather than from sunlight. This enables them to grow in dark, damp places like under logs or in caves, as well as in sunny spots.
The classification of organisms is essential for understanding their nature and relationships with other organisms. While fungi were historically grouped with plants, modern taxonomy recognizes their distinct characteristics and evolutionary history, setting them apart from the plant kingdom.
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They are decomposers
Mushrooms are part of the Fungi Kingdom of life. They are living organisms but are very different from other living things like plants and animals. Unlike plants, mushrooms do not rely on the sun to grow and instead obtain their energy from decomposing plant and animal matter. This means they absorb energy from dead plants and animals.
Mushrooms are decomposers, which are a critical component of the food chain in the ecosystem. They are responsible for breaking down organic and nutrient matter from dead plants and animals, thus recycling the organic matter and making it available to the ecosystem. This process, called absorption, involves the movement of food in the form of sugar, water, and oxygen through the hyphal walls into the mycelium. To accomplish this, hyphae release digestive enzymes that break down organic material through extracellular digestion, then absorb nutrients in solution, leading to more growth and reproduction.
Saprophytic mushrooms, for example, digest the tissues of dead plants and trees, breaking down dead plant material to create soil. This process is essential, as it makes it possible for living organisms like trees to live and receive nourishment. It also allows plants and flowers to survive, which gives insects such as pollinators food, assisting all plants on earth to grow.
Mycelial networks also form relationships with plants through their root systems, providing nutrition to both plants and fungi. This mutualistic relationship benefits both partners, such as in lichen, where a fungus receives food from an alga living as one organism. Mushrooms can also form parasitic relationships by breaking down living tissue, causing illness in the host.
The largest and oldest living creature on earth is a mushroom and mycelial network found in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. The organism covers 2,384 acres.
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They can be poisonous
Mushrooms are living organisms, but some can be poisonous and cause severe harm to humans. Mushroom poisoning is caused by the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. While some poisonous mushrooms have bright colours like red or orange, many poisonous mushrooms are plain white, grey, or brown. This makes it challenging to distinguish them from edible mushrooms. The similarity in colour and morphology between toxic and edible species often leads to accidental poisoning.
There are approximately 100 toxic mushroom species out of the vast number of mushroom species known to exist. These toxic mushrooms contain toxins such as amatoxins, psilocybin, muscarine, coprine, allenic norleucine, and gyromitrin. The symptoms of mushroom poisoning depend on the ingested toxin and can range from gastrointestinal discomfort to liver failure, kidney failure, and even death. For example, α-Amanitin causes vomiting and watery diarrhoea, followed by severe liver damage. Amatoxins, found in the deadly Amanita species, can lead to fatality, as seen in the case of Galerina marginata ingestion. Other manifestations of mushroom poisoning include headaches, vertigo, palpitations, rhabdomyolysis, methemoglobinemia, hemolysis, dermatitis, and cramping.
Most mushroom poisonings occur when poisonous mushrooms are misidentified as edible species. This can happen when foraging for wild mushrooms or when attempting to collect hallucinogenic mushrooms for recreational use. To prevent mushroom poisoning, it is crucial to familiarise yourself with both edible and toxic mushroom species before consuming any foraged mushrooms. Additionally, children, especially toddlers, are at risk of mushroom poisoning due to their tendency to ingest mushrooms found on lawns or in parks.
It is worth noting that mushrooms can be poisonous to protect themselves from being eaten, ensuring their survival and reproduction. While this is a defence mechanism for some mushrooms, others rely on animals consuming them to spread their spores through defecation.
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They evolved before trees
Mushrooms are living organisms that are part of the Fungi Kingdom. They are very different from other living organisms like plants and animals. Unlike plants, mushrooms do not depend on sunlight for energy. Instead, they obtain energy by decomposing plant and animal matter. This means they can be found in dark, damp places like caves or under logs, as well as in sunny spots like lawns or tree sides.
The evolution of mushrooms is still largely a mystery. However, recent studies have revealed that mushrooms are much older than previously thought. Fossilized remains of mycelium, a network of interconnected microscopic strands, were discovered in rocks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These rocks are estimated to be between 715 and 810 million years old, dating back to when life on Earth's surface was just beginning. This discovery suggests that mushrooms evolved between 715 and 810 million years ago, 300 million years earlier than previously believed.
In contrast, trees are estimated to have evolved much later, around 385 million years ago. Before the evolution of trees, the Earth was dominated by other types of plants such as lycophytes, ferns, and horsetails. These early plants did not have seeds, but they were the first to develop vascular systems, enabling them to grow taller and form trunks and branches. Over time, trees evolved as a way to compete for sunlight by growing taller and developing modified structures like thicker stems.
The discovery of ancient mushroom fossils provides insight into the important role mushrooms played in the early colonization of the Earth's surface by plants. They likely formed symbiotic relationships with the first plants, aiding in their growth and survival. This discovery highlights the complex and ancient history of mushrooms and their impact on the evolution of life on Earth.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, mushrooms are living organisms. They are part of the Fungi Kingdom of life and are related more closely to humans than plants.
Mushrooms get their energy from decomposing plant and animal matter, absorbing energy from dead plants and animals. They do not require sunlight to grow and can be found in dark, damp places.
Mushrooms play an essential role in creating soil by breaking down dead plant material. This process allows other living organisms, such as trees, to receive nourishment and survive.
There are over 14,000 species of mushrooms. Some common edible mushrooms include Portabella, Button, Cremini, Shiitake, and Oyster mushrooms. It is important to note that not all mushrooms are edible, and some can be poisonous.
