What are fungi and its types?

FUNGI

The mushrooms and other fungi that can appear overnight in damp places are not plants. They belong to a completely separate group of living things that feed on dead or living plants and animals. Each fungus forms a hidden network of slender stems called a mycelium, and the visible part is just the “fruiting body” that sprouts like an apple on a tree to spread the spores that grow into new fungi.

1. OAK BOLETE A typical mushroom has radiating gills beneath its cap that produce millions of spores. Other fungi, like the oak bolete, have spongy undersides that release spores from tiny holes, or are covered with spore-producing tufts.
2. TURKEYTAIL Fungi are vital to life because they break down and recycle dead organisms. The turkeytail grows on dead wood, rotting it down so the nutrients it contains can be used by growing plants.
3. DEATH CAP Some fungi are extremely poisonous if they are eaten. The well-named death cap has probably been responsible for 90 per cent of all known deaths from mushroom poisoning.
4. SAFFRON MILK CAP Many fungi grow around the roots of certain plants, and provide them with plant foods in exchange for sugars. The saffron milk cap, for example, always grows with pine trees.
5. PARASOL MUSHROOM Some fungi, like the penny bun and parasol mushroom, are good to eat. But if you are not an expert at identifying them, you could be poisoned by a killer like the death cap.
6. FLY AGARIC The fly agaric is one of the best-known “toadstools” — a word often used for inedible or poisonous fungi. The white scales on its red cap are the remains of a thin veil that covered the growing fungus.
7. PENNY BUN The root-like fibres attached to the stem are just a tiny part of the penny bun’s mycelium. This can cover huge areas. The mycelium of a single honey fungus can extend 150,000 sq m (1.6 million sq ft).
8. STUMP PUFFBALL Puffballs are named for the way the ripe fungi puff clouds of dust-like spores when they are kicked or hit by rain. Just one giant puffball can contain an amazing 7 trillion (7,000,000,000,000) spores.

Picture Credit : Google