The largest organism on Earth is a fungus. The discovery of Armillaria ostoyae in 1998 heralded a new record holder for the title of the world’s largest known organism. The fungus occupies some 2,384 acres of soil in Oregon’s Blue Mountains.
Starting from a single spore too small to see without a microscope, the Oregon Armillaria ostoyae and has been weaving its black shoestring filaments for an estimated 2,400 years, killing trees as it grows.
Fungal species outnumber plants in temperate forests 10 to one.
Genetic studies have revealed that fungi are more closely related to animals than they are to plants. Like animals, and unlike plants, fungi are secondary consumers requiring organic matter made by other living things for their growth and sustenance. They have developed a different body chemistry to plants, which photosynthesise their own food from carbon dioxide, water and light.
As a result of the research, fungi have now been given a taxonomic kingdom of their own, Eumycota, separate from plants.
The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology
The fungus Hirticlavula elegans is so named (from the Latin for "elegant") because of the beauty of its fruit bodies.
The Chorioactis, also known as the Devil's Cigar, is a fungus that strangely only exists in small area of Texas and Japan separated by 11,000 km but at the same latitude. It looks like a cigar, hisses, releases clouds resembling smoke, then splits open into a flower shape.
Radiotrophic fungi were discovered in 1991 growing inside and around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in an environment in which the radiation level was 500 times higher than in the normal environment. The fungi converts gamma radiation into chemical energy for growth.
Japan has a 'national fungus' - Aspergillus oryzae, or koji - which is essential for brewing sake, and making miso, soy sauce, and other traditional Japanese foods.
Starting from a single spore too small to see without a microscope, the Oregon Armillaria ostoyae and has been weaving its black shoestring filaments for an estimated 2,400 years, killing trees as it grows.
Fungal species outnumber plants in temperate forests 10 to one.
Genetic studies have revealed that fungi are more closely related to animals than they are to plants. Like animals, and unlike plants, fungi are secondary consumers requiring organic matter made by other living things for their growth and sustenance. They have developed a different body chemistry to plants, which photosynthesise their own food from carbon dioxide, water and light.
As a result of the research, fungi have now been given a taxonomic kingdom of their own, Eumycota, separate from plants.
The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology
The fungus Hirticlavula elegans is so named (from the Latin for "elegant") because of the beauty of its fruit bodies.
 |
| Hirticlavula elegans. By Jens Henrik Petersen |
The Chorioactis, also known as the Devil's Cigar, is a fungus that strangely only exists in small area of Texas and Japan separated by 11,000 km but at the same latitude. It looks like a cigar, hisses, releases clouds resembling smoke, then splits open into a flower shape.
Radiotrophic fungi were discovered in 1991 growing inside and around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in an environment in which the radiation level was 500 times higher than in the normal environment. The fungi converts gamma radiation into chemical energy for growth.
Japan has a 'national fungus' - Aspergillus oryzae, or koji - which is essential for brewing sake, and making miso, soy sauce, and other traditional Japanese foods.
There is an Austrailan fungus called "The Stonemaker Fungus" that only shows up right after a forest fire. They live underground in a stone-like mycelium and pop up through the ashes two to ten days after the fire, sometimes as infrequent as every hundred years.
A zombie ant is a fungus that infects the brains of carpenter ants. It signals the insect to crawl to a spot where the fungus can reproduce.
Smuts' are multicellular fungi that often grow on grain.
Truffles, a type of fungus, are sniffed out of the soil by female pigs. Truffles sell for up to $1,500 a pound.
A zombie ant is a fungus that infects the brains of carpenter ants. It signals the insect to crawl to a spot where the fungus can reproduce.
Smuts' are multicellular fungi that often grow on grain.
Truffles, a type of fungus, are sniffed out of the soil by female pigs. Truffles sell for up to $1,500 a pound.
No comments:
Post a Comment