Whats with the Fungi

Boxing day was spent walking around my favourite RSPB reserve... Middleton Lakes. If you have not been there, well you are in for a treat, it has so much to offer. 

It's not just the wildlife that I find so fascinating, but the different vegetation you can see, but there is something that is neither a plant or an animal, that I have always found intriguing and that is fungi. There are five characteristics of fungi which are quite unique:

•  They contain a nuclei with chromosomes

•  They cannot photosynthesize

•  They are osmotropic, in other-words they absorb their food

•  They have diffuse bodies made up of a spreading network called hyphae

•   They usually reproduce by means of spores.

It is thought that fungi diverged from the plant and animal kingdoms about one billion years ago and at one time it was classed as a plant, but no longer.  The reason being it does not have chlorophyll. 

Plants need chlorophyll to make its food to survive and it does this using a method called photosynthesis.  Since fungi does not have this ability it must obtain its own food and it does this by using absorption. Another fascinating fact about fungi is that it does not only live off trees it will also live in ponds and streams. 


If you look at fungi you will see a spreading network called hyphae. This is a  long, branching filamentous structure and they are stacked from one end to another to make the body that we can see.

We need fungi to help decompose matter, this can then be absorbed by other plants. More importantly during this process the fungi will return carbon dioxide (CO2) back to the atmosphere. This is then used by plants during photosynthesis and this will release oxygen (O2). Any fungus on trees has the same effect and that is how the trees obtain CO2. So we need the fungi to help produce the oxygen we need. 

Not only do fungi help with the production of O2 they are very delicious to eat. Did you know that the common field mushroom is a fruiting body of the fungus Agaricus bisporus.. Well I didn't either until now!... Plus they have many medicinal properties, but do ensure you know what you are eating, since some can be very toxic......

Here are a selection of pictures taken at RSPB Middleton. 

This could be Jelly Fungi

Fungi is immobile and so to reproduce it will disperse spores, or they can grow into an adjoining area, like these have. 

The spores are single cells so they can travel some great distances. However, they do encounter problems trying to clear the boundary layer. The boundary layer is a think layer of air that will cover the surface of the plant/leaf/fungi. This air does not move and so the spores have to be projected over. Hopefully the wind will catch the spores and thus carry them a great distance.

We tend to use fungi in every day life, it can work with us;  we make antibiotics such as penicillin. They are also used an immunosuppressant  during and after bone marrow and organ transplants in humans. It is used to make statins, to suppress cholesterol production. 

It can also work against us; we can pick up fungal infections such as ringworm and candida infections. Fungus can be particularly problematic for anyone who has asthma, or any lung condition.

We can also eat fungus and it is used in food production, such as making blue cheese and soy sauce. In addition it is used in making bread, we need yeast to make it rise, not forgetting all you beer and wine drinkers, but did you know it is also used in black tea, the cheeky Candida krusei and Saccharomyces cerevisiae are both found in Kombucha Tea, which is a slightly acidulous effervescent drink that is said to have several curative effects. Please do check with your Health Care Practitioner if you are on any medication before thinking about drinking this, it could be contraindicated.

So there is more to fungus than we think and I could go on and on, but like anything if we live in harmony with it, it will do us no harm.
















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