Metal detecting Fungi can extract metals from inside rock by releasing acids that break down the rock. Fungi can also recover metals from liquids and waste. Fungi can extract the tiny particles of gold sometimes found in water and lumps of iron. Fungal fashion Dye makers Fungi make enzymes used in the Some colourful lichens and clothing industry. Enzymes are an other fungi can be used to ingredient in washing powder, they dye wool and silk. The fungus remove loose fibres (threads), fruit body or lichen is soaked and they are used to make in hot water to get the dye. stonewashed fabrics. 49 Sdtoenneiwmashed
HOME INVADERS In the kitchen Fungi recycle dead things into nutrients You need food for energy that other living things can eat, but they to keep you going and for sometimes start this job before we want nutrients to keep you healthy them to! They can rot our food, – but so do fungi! A mould belongings, and homes... fungus on food often looks like a furry patch. Eating mouldy bread could make you unwell, so watch out for it! Beneath the floor Dry rot spreads as rust-coloured spores. The dry rot fungus eats wood in our roofs, ceilings, and floors. This makes the wood weaker and more likely to break. The fungus can spread from damp to dry areas, giving it the name “dry rot”. 50
Ifahnodmmeosualrdeakreeputndlriykealnydtoagirryo,wd.ry rot On a shelf Paper is made from a chemical called cellulose, which comes from plants. If paper is slightly damp, fungi can feed on the cellulose. In the air Mould spores travel through the air and find new things on which to grow. People who are allergic to the spores might feel poorly if they breathe them in. Climbing the walls Black mould can grow in damp places. It feeds on all sorts of materials, such as carpet, paint, paper, and glue. It makes lots of spores and chemicals, which can be harmful if breathed in. 51
FLOATING FUNGI Some fungi live in ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans. They are in the water, seaweeds, living plants, dead plants, drifting wood, and in the mud at the bottom. Many are recyclers and partners with other organisms. Strange spores Spores of water fungi come in strange shapes – curves, coils, and tripods. This may help them to float, and to land on their tips on food. The tips make glue to stop the spores from being washed away. Inside seaweed Some fungi can kill plants and seaweeds that grow in water. Seaweeds have partner fungi inside them, which help them to grow. The fungi also protect very young seaweeds from drying out. Fungi break down dead things and release 52
Munching on mangroves Tiny chytrids A wide range of fungi feed on mangroves, Diatoms are tiny algae which are trees growing out of salty water. made of one cell, smaller The fungi can be partners, killers, or rotters than the width of a human and important recyclers. hair. Hyphae of chytrid fungi can feed inside them. Hyphae The chytrids form tiny sacs of swimming spores on A few fungi Chytrid spores the outside of the diatom. cause fish diseases. Marine mysteries Aspergillus sydowii Sea fan coral bleaches (whitens), creates holes in, and kills sea fan corals. Marine fungi are often overlooked by scientists, so we know little about them. Over a thousand species are known to live only in the sea, but there are likely 10,000 more still to be discovered. nutrients in sediment. 53
HUMONGOUS FUNGUS Most fungi are microscopic for most of the time. But some grow gigantic mushroom fruit bodies. A few form vast mycelia, which can weigh more than a blue whale. Cords Tbfuhenelogmwusagiirnsohpuiandrddt.eonf the Hyphae are tiny fungal filaments, which are like threads. In some fungi, they can grow together to form strands, or larger, string-like structures called cords. Gently turn over a Cord networks rotting log and often you will find cords The cords form networks just growing from the wood beneath the forest’s layer of leaves. into the soil beneath. They link up rotting logs, fallen branches, and other woody material. The fungus can move water and nutrients from one place to another through the cords.
Rhizomorphs Giant fruit bodies These are often wider Termitomyces titanicus is a fungus than cords with a whose mycelium is farmed by termites. thick, dark, waterproof coating. They are It is said to be the largest edible formed by honey fungi, fungus, sometimes with a mushroom called Armillaria. The rhizomorphs grow from cap of 1 m (over 3 ft) across. tree to tree across the forest floor. A single Cep are usually the individual fungus can size of your hand. form a huge network. Giant puffballs can measure 150 cm (60 in) across. The humongous fungus In a vast forest in Oregan, USA, an individual honey fungus rhizomorph network covers 9.5 km2 (3.5 miles2) and weighs around 400,000 kg (881,849 lb). It is at least 2,500 years old, and is the largest organism in the world. 55
CGLHOABNAGLE Our planet is changing. Humans are destroying habitats, and polluting air, land, and water with toxic chemicals and gases that affect the weather. These changes are causing problems for fungi. Pollution Ochre brittlegill Gases made when we burn fossil fuels to The blusher Brown roll rim power machinery and vehicles pollute air, soil, and water. Chemicals used in factories and for farming pollute water and soil. Grey tooth Befuddled fruiting Devil’s tooth Fungi tend to grow in certain seasons, but the changing weather is confusing them. The autumn fruiting season is often longer, some fungi fruit earlier, and plant partners sometimes fruit later. Vanishing fungi Funggroi waraencdhawnhgeinngthweyhefrrueitth. ey Extra nitrogen is added to soil when fossil fuels are burned, and in farming, to help plants grow. This has caused some plant-partner fungi to be lost. 56
TwhearEmaertrhthisanabitowuta1s°iCn (1.8 °F) Changing use of land 1900. Humans chop down trees for materials and to clear land for farming. They also cover land with buildings and roads. This destroys habitats for fungi. Spring fungi By protecting habitats, humans can help fungi. Tree swapping Some fungi have always made fruit bodies in spring, but now Some fungi grow on different many more do. This is because trees than in the past. The ear winters are warmer, so fungi can fungus used to grow mostly on get food then, too. elder. In the UK, it now grows on many trees – but mostly on beech. Death cap is invasive in California, in the USA. Wood-rotting sulphur Keep out tuft now fruits earlier in autumn FtaTobhcunfhoyendsimysfgoibpdgmimeeihcdeectatiioannnnnmngoaggstetfetilotvhtiihrvneeteeovfmfoyaubpogsnolediaregfv.octie,err.eisd than it used to, and even in spring. 57
SAVING THE FUTURE Humans are causing the extinction of many plant, animal, and fungal species. Without fungi, the natural ecosystems of our planet would not work. Here’s how you can protect fungi. Don’t pick them In the high grasslands of the Himalayas, the caterpillar fungus has become endangered because some people believe it is a medicine and pick it. If you see a wild fungus, don’t pick it (it could be poisonous, too). Europe has lost most of its flower-rich hay meadows. Be more natural Fields for animals are now planted with a few fast-growing grasses, and fertilizers are added to help them grow. Fungi need soil with lots of different plants and no fertilizers – so natural Earth tongue grasslands should be saved. Wax cap 58
Leave dead wood Some rare fungi need big old trees and logs, which take a long time to rot away. We must leave fallen trunks and dead branches in forests. A fallen branch in a forest is a fungus’ precious food. Protect ancient trees Fungi rotting the centre of old trees is a natural part of the tree’s life. It creates a habitat for minibeasts, small mammals, and birds. We must not chop down ancient, hollowing trees. 59
GLOSSARY Bracket Cyanobacteria Germination Shelf-shaped fruit body, Single-celled organisms When a hypha grows often with tiny holes on that can make sugars from from a spore the underside carbon dioxide using energy from sunlight Gill Cap Earthstar Part of the mushroom, on the Wide, top part of a underside of the cap, where mushroom fruit body, which Fruit body similar to a spores are made sits on top of a stalk puffball, but raised above the ground on stilts Hypha Cell Endophyte Microscopic filament Tiny building block of (threadlike structure). A an organism Fungus that lives within network of hyphae makes a plant without harming it up the mycelium Cord Filament Lichen Visible, stringlike structure formed from hyphae Very fine, threadlike Fungus that partners up structure with algae or cyanobacteria Cup Fruit body Mould Fruit body shaped like a cup or saucer, with spores that Part of the fungus that Fungus that does not are made in lots of long, thin makes spores, such as a produce large fruit bodies. sacs on the inner surface of mushroom or cup The mycelium or spores are the cup often green, blue, or black 60
Mushroom Organism Rhizomorph Fruit body with a cap, gills, Living thing, such as a Visible, stringlike structure and stalk. The word is also fungus, animal, or plant formed from hyphae, similar used for fungi that make to but often wider than cords other types of fruit bodies, Parasite such as brackets, puffballs, Spore and earthstars Organism that grows on or in another living Tiny cell produced by Mycelium organism, taking food out one or two parent fungi, of it and giving nothing which is carried away by the Main body of most fungi, in return air or on an animal, and formed from a branching may grow into a new fungus network of hyphae Pollution Stalk Mycorrhiza When harmful substances make their way into the air, Upright, cylindrical part Partnership between soil, or a body of water of a mushroom, which a fungus mycelium and raises the cap above the plant roots, in which food is Predator ground and connects it to swapped between the two the mycelium Organism that catches Nutrient and eats an animal Truffle Chemical that organisms Puffball Underground fruit body eat in order to grow and stay healthy Ball-shaped or pear-shaped Yeast fruit body, with spores that puff out of the top when the Single-celled fungus puffball is tapped 61
INDEX D fruit bodies 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21, 24–25, 42, 55 A dandruff 44 dead wood 59 G algae 26, 27, 53 death caps 23, 57 allergies 44, 51 digestion 15, 38, 45 germination 11 animals 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 28, 29, diseases, fungal 32–33, gills 10, 12 glowing fungi 29 37, 38–43, 58 40–41 grass 24, 58 ants 15, 43 dry rot 50, 51 greencracked brittlegill 22 athlete’s foot 45 Dutch elm disease 33 grey mould 33 autumn 18 growth 12–13 E gut fungi 37, 38, 45 B earthstars 18 H bacteria 35, 36, 44, 48 ecosystems 7, 8, 58 bats 40–41 ectomycorrhizas 30 habitats 8, 56–57, 58–59 bees 41 edible fungi 22–23, 34–35, 55 hat thrower 37 beetles 33, 39 energy 6, 7, 14, 50 hay fever 44 brown rot 36 enzymes 15, 35, 49 homes, fungi in 50–51 extinction 41, 58 honey fungi 55 C horn stalkball 37 F human activity 56–59 carbohydrates 26 hyphae 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, cellulose 51 fairy rings 24–25 chemicals 16, 17, 42–43, 47, feeding 6–7, 14–15, 38–39 17, 25, 26, 30, 31, 53, 54 fertilizers 56, 58 48–49, 51 flask fungi 21 I chytrid fungi 5, 53 flies 42–43 cicadas 42 fly agaric 8, 13, 23 invasive fungi 57 climate change 56–57 folklore 25 colonies 30 food crops 32–33 L colours 28–29 food, fungi as 8, 22–23, cords 54 lichens 26–7, 29, 49 corn smut 32 34–35, 38–39, 55 cup fungi 20 62
M plants, fungi and 6–7, 8, 9, T 15, 30–33 marine fungi 53 termites 38, 55 medicine 9, 46–47, 48, 58 plastic-eating fungus 37 territories 16–17 mind control 42–43 poisonous fungi 22–23, thrush 44 minibeasts 8, 11, 22, 23, 29, trees 7, 30–1, 33, 57, 59 28, 58 truffles 21 40, 59 pollution 36, 56 morels 20 potato late blight 33 V moulds 5, 35, 50, 51 powdery mildew 32 mushrooms 4, 8, 10, 12–13, protein 22, 34 veils 12–13 18–19, 22, 34 puffballs 18, 22, 55 volva 13 mycelia 4, 5, 11, 12, 14, 16, 24, R W 30, 54 mycorrhiza 30 recycling 8, 9, 36–37, 50, warmth 29 52, 53 water 6, 7, 8, 22, 25, 26, 30, 31, N rhizomorphs 55 32, 36, 52–53, 54, 56 nematodes 41, 46 rice blast 33 weather 12, 56 networks 30–31, 54–55 ringworm 45 web cap fungus 13 nitrogen 56 roots 7, 8, 25, 30–31 wheat stem rust 33 nutrients 6–7, 8, 9, 15, 31, white rot 36 S 36, 53 Y sac fungi 5, 20–21, 26 O scale insects 39 yeasts 4, 35, 48 sea turtles 40 Ötzi 46 shapes 18, 19 Z oxygen 7, 38 soil 6, 8, 9, 11, 16, 22, 24, 30, zombie fungi 43 P 31, 36, 56, 58 soybean rust 32 Panama disease 32 spores 4, 5, 10–11, 12, 18, 19, parasitic fungi 15, 17 penicillin 46 20, 21, 22, 29, 33, 44, 51, 52 piggyback fungi 17 stinkhorns 19 plant diseases 32–3 sugars 7, 14, 15, 31, 48 63
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS DK would like to thank: Vagisha Pushp for picture Docker Sydney Australia (cr). 32 Alamy Stock Photo: David research; Vikram Singh for his design help; Polly Bleeker Photography (br). 33 Alamy Stock Photo: Rosey. (tl); Goodman for proofreading the book; and Helen Thomas Weightman (br). Dreamstime.com: Floriankittemann Peters for the index. (bl). 35 Nick Read: (tc). Science Photo Library: Power And Syred (bl). 36 Dreamstime.com: Matauw (c). 36-37 The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind Dreamstime.com: Alfio Scisetti / Scisettialfio (c). 37 Alamy permission to reproduce their photographs: Stock Photo: Witold Krasowski (cb). Dreamstime.com: Muriel Lasure (ca). Science Photo Library: Wim Van Egmond (tc). 38 (Key: a-above; b-below/bottom; c-centre; f-far; l-left; r-right; t-top) Dreamstime.com: Apisit Wilaijit (c). 39 Alamy Stock Photo: Richard Becker (cla); blickwinkel / F. Hecker (c). 40 4 Alamy Stock Photo: Mediscan (br). Dreamstime. Alamy Stock Photo: Anton Sorokin (tc). Dreamstime. com: Alexander Kurlovich (ca). 5 Dreamstime. com: Heather Snow (c). 41 Dreamstime.com: Somchai com: Katyspichal (c). Science Photo Library: Power And Syred Khunwiset (c). 44 Alamy Stock Photo: Icom Images (bc); (cr). 8 Alamy Stock Photo: Arterra Picture Library / Clement Dreamstime.com: Dalius Baranauskas (cl). 45 Alamy Stock Philippe (cra). 9 Dreamstime.com: Serban Enache (br). Dr. Photo: Mediscan (tl); Dreamstime.com: Vchalup (cr); Science Gareth Wyn Griffith: (clb). Dr. Yu-Ling Huang: (ca). 10 Getty Photo Library: Dr P. Marazzi (cb). 46 Science Photo Images: Stone / Ed Reschke (bc). 13 Dreamstime. Library: Biophoto Associates (crb). 47 Dreamstime. com: Alexander Potapov (cra). 14 Dreamstime.com: Darius com: Empire331 (bl). Getty Images / iStock: AnniePunyakorn Baužys (tl). Getty Images / iStock: hsvrs (tr). 15 Alamy Stock (br); Krungchingpixs (c). 48 Dreamstime.com: GCapture (ca); Photo: Redmond Durrell (tr). 21 Alamy Stock Photo: Sabena Anton Ignatenco (cla); Kingjon (br). 49 Dreamstime. Jane Blackbird (cla). 22 Dreamstime.com: Aleksandar com: Anton Starikov (cb); Taigis (bc). Getty Images / Milutinovic (bl); Richard Thomas (crb). 23 123RF.com: Andrzej iStock: Vaitekune (crb). 51 Science Photo Library: Dr. Richard Tokarski / ajt (crb). Alamy Stock Photo: Imagebroker / Arco / O. Kessel & Dr. Gene Shih, Visuals Unlimited (c). 52-53 Diez (ca). Dreamstime.com: Empire331 (clb, cra). 25 Getty Dreamstime.com: Seadam. 53 Dreamstime.com: Jdazuelos Images / iStock: gurkoao (br). 26 Alamy Stock Photo: Sabena (crb). 55 Humongous Dreamstime.com: Lightboxx (cl). 58 Jane Blackbird (cra). 27 Dreamstime.com: Iakov Filimonov Dreamstime.com: Jm73 (br, fbr). 59 123RF.com: Eric Isselee / (ca). 28 Alamy Stock Photo: Richard Becker (cla); Pat Canova isselee (bl). Dreamstime.com: David Hansche (cb, crb); (cr); Chris Mellor (br). Dreamstime.com: Werner Meidinger Henrikhl (tc) (ca); Whiskybottle (cra); Michaelimages (fcra). Getty Images / iStock: Azureus70 (bl); empire331 (cl). 29 Alamy Stock All other images © Dorling Kindersley Photo: Daniel Borzynski (bl); Bob Gibbons (cla). Getty Images For further information see: www.dkimages.com / iStock: hekakoskinen (cb). Getty Images: Moment / Louise 64
Search
