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What is a fungus? |
by Brian Griffin (whyzz writer) >> more about the author
A fungus is a special type of living thing. It’s not a plant, and it’s not an animal. It’s an entirely different group! Mushrooms, molds, mildews, and yeasts are all types of fungi. When talking about more than one fungus, people usually say “fungi” and not “funguses.”
Fungi don’t make their own food, so they have to feed off other living things and organic material. You might find them growing on trees, in soil, or on some old bread or cheese. They can live anywhere there is water and food, so a lot of Earth makes a comfy home for them.
Many plants make more of themselves by using seeds. Many animals use eggs, but there are no seeds or eggs in the fungus world. Fungi make more of themselves by releasing spores that grow into new fungi. Spores are sort of like seeds, except seeds come with their own food for the tiny plants inside. Spores don’t come with food and have to wait for food and the right conditions before they can start growing.
Good for People or Bad for People?
Some fungi can make you sick, and others are healthy. It’s difficult to tell the difference so never eat any wild fungi unless you have a fungus expert with you to tell you if it’s okay. Fungi also can be very useful to people. Many loaves of bread and pretzels would be impossible to make without yeast, a type of fungus.
One of the first antibiotics (medicines that stop bacterial infections in people) was Penicillin. Do you know where it was discovered? In mold! In 1928 a Scottish scientist named Alexander Fleming found that bacteria couldn’t grow around a certain mold. It was an accident too! Some mold got into the samples of bacteria that he was growing, and the rest is history!
Fungi don’t make their own food, so they have to feed off other living things and organic material. You might find them growing on trees, in soil, or on some old bread or cheese. They can live anywhere there is water and food, so a lot of Earth makes a comfy home for them.
Many plants make more of themselves by using seeds. Many animals use eggs, but there are no seeds or eggs in the fungus world. Fungi make more of themselves by releasing spores that grow into new fungi. Spores are sort of like seeds, except seeds come with their own food for the tiny plants inside. Spores don’t come with food and have to wait for food and the right conditions before they can start growing.
Good for People or Bad for People?
Some fungi can make you sick, and others are healthy. It’s difficult to tell the difference so never eat any wild fungi unless you have a fungus expert with you to tell you if it’s okay. Fungi also can be very useful to people. Many loaves of bread and pretzels would be impossible to make without yeast, a type of fungus.
One of the first antibiotics (medicines that stop bacterial infections in people) was Penicillin. Do you know where it was discovered? In mold! In 1928 a Scottish scientist named Alexander Fleming found that bacteria couldn’t grow around a certain mold. It was an accident too! Some mold got into the samples of bacteria that he was growing, and the rest is history!
