10 Fun Facts About Fungi

So you wouldn’t be alone if you thought that mushrooms were plants. I mean, they grow on the ground and go into onto pizza with capsicum and surely they are  just like a meaty vege? Well no – they are not and the reasons are plentiful – fungi, which encompass yeasts, bread molds, and mushrooms alongside lichen  and  others (but not dog vomit mold that's from a neighbouring kingdom and yes that is its name) have similarities and differences with plants, animals and bacteria …

For instance - fungi  have CELL WALLS - Like plants but instead of being made from cellulose they are made from the same stuff as insect bodies and crustaceans are made from – chitin ( and glucans which will become interesting later).  They also reproduce in all sorts of different ways like plants,  for instance they oft grow  fruits and distribute seeds but in the case of fungi they are named  spores.

They have to EAT FOOD which is a characteristic  more similar to animals – like they cant just chill out and photosynthesize and make their own food like plants. They have to find it, break it down and then absorb its nutrients kind of like how we do which brings us to our next crazy mushroom fact

2. Fungi are more closely related to humans than plants

As it turns out, animals and fungi share a common ancestor as we both branched away from plants at some point about a billion years ago.  Some say our DNA similarities  could be as much as 30%. This is quoted by some as the reasoning behind why fungal infections are so difficult to treat in people. When you are given antifungals the antifungal agent has a hard time sorting out what is fungal and what is you – thus antifungal agents are prone to affecting your healthy tissues.   Does this also mean that their similarity to us makes them a good option for supporting our health?

3.There are thought to be up to 5 million species of fungi

Arrghh scientists love to disagree. So there have only been about 140,000 fungi actually taxonomically recognized and documented but there are thought to be a hell of a lot more. Like a lot. Some say a million and some other mycologists say 5-10 million.

However big the number is – there are many, many fungi in our environment. Fungal spores are in every single breathe we take on everything we eat and touch and likely living happily on us and in us.

From this group only about 10% actually produce what is known as a “mushroom” which is actually just the easily seen, touched and picked fruiting body whose one and only purpose is to spread its wild oats as spore… but what lies beneath is pretty amazing

4. Mushrooms are only the tip of the iceberg

So the actual mushroom that you see is really just the tip of the iceberg.

Once spores hit an appropriate substrate on which to grow they don’t start shooting out mushrooms – first they start growing hyphae which are long filamentous strands of cells. These hyphae form a mass known as mycelium and it is this mass through which fungi extracellularly feed. They do this by excreting special enzymes into the substrate to break it down and then they absorb these nutrients back into them. The mycelium is throught to be able to break down nearly anything – they can break down wood, proteins AND some scientist even think they broke down the rock of a baby Planet Earth, that made way for soil and plants. The way that mycelium is set up is to enhance the surface area for absorption just like our lungs and our intestines. 

And they can get verrrrryyy large

5. The world’s largest organism is a fungus- the humoungus fungus

So, these large groups of hyphae organised into this mesh like mycelium have actually formed the worlds largest organism. This Armillaria or honey fungus is considered a singular organism as its cells are clones and identical. It covers approximately 4km in the Blue Mountains in Oregon, could be up to 8000 years old and could weigh as much as 35,000 tons. Its modus operandi is to kill trees and it does this so well that Mr Paul Stamets calls this fungi, the meadow maker.

6. Plants need fungi to survive and thrive

So just as some fungi are pretty badass parasites like that Armillaria killing all the trees and your fungal toenail killing all the opportunities to wear pretty sandals, some fungi act like BFF for plants. These types of fungi are called mycorrhizal fungi and they form a partnership with plants, but rather then harming the plant, their presence significantly increases the roots' effectiveness.

Fungi send their hyphae in and about the little rootlets of the tree until its difficult to tell them apart. The tree supplies the mycelium with moisture and carbohydrates, and the mycelium returns the favour with minerals and other nutrients from the surrounding soil.

Mycorrhiza fungi are beneficial both in nature and agriculture; plants with them tend to grow better than those without. There is also the idea that mycorrhizal fungi help trees to communicate with one another via the fungal mycelium and some mycologists call this the “Wood Wide Web”If you want to learn more about this – I highly recommend The Hidden Life Of Trees by Peter Wohlleben- it is a masterpiece and you will never look at a tree the same every again.

7. Fungi are the world’s greatest recyclers and composters

So, we have met met some parasitic and some mutualistic fungi but the biggest group are the saprophytic fungi which grow on dead organic matter such as fallen trees, cow shit, dead leaves and dead us. They produce enzymes which "rot" or "digest" the cellulose and lignin and the proteins found in the organic matter. Without their digestive activities, organic material would continue to accumulate until the forest became a huge rubbish dump of dead stuff and there would be no free nutrients in order for anything to grow. 

Which is pretty amazing really – so if they have these cool actions – might they be instrumental in helping our ailing world?

8. Fungi might play a role in saving the environment

The very nature of fungi and their ability to breakdown the substrate on which they live with both their enzymes and the strength of their mycelium mat means that they have could have a role to play in saving the environment this is called mycoremediation.

From a plastic eating Aspergillus fungus which was found in a Pakistan dump which has the ability to breakdown plastics within a few weeks. This could have major implications for helping to remedy the plastic issues in the world.  In a similar vein, the wonderful Paul Stamets has head up groundbreaking research into how fungal mycelium may be able to filtrate runoff and stormwater to prevent it from affecting our waterways. There is also the idea that potentially certain fungi may be able to break up and remediate oil slicks and contaminated and even irradiated soil and waterways.

Then you can always be buried in a mushroom death suit like Luke Perry to make you body breakdown more quickly!

9. Some kinds of fungi have the ability to change your mind

In the same way that fungi can change and remediate the environment, they may be able to change and remediate the mind.  There was a significant research in the 60s and early 70s into the actions of psychedelic mushrooms for enhancing diversive thinking for creative and innovative thought. There have also been more recent  studies into using psychedelic mushrooms for the repair and rerouting of neural pathways to help to treat depression, anxiety, PTSD and even drug and alcohol addiction.  In fact, they have now been decriminalised in many places including in Australia for use in a therapy environment for psychiatric illness. There is significant interest in how psychedelic mushrooms, can be of benefit and thus there is even a company with links to psychedelic therapy listed on the stock exchange!

If you have an interest in this I encourage you to read How to Change you Mind By Michael Pollan. Its amazing. And maybe if you are feeling pretty trippy have a read around Terrence McKenna and his ideas of the stoned Ape theory. Its pretty amazing!

10. Some fungi are f**king poisonous

So fungi are pretty great but they also can be fucking poisonous. Death caps are an Amanita mushroom which has a nice lil relationship with trees but there is a problem with it. It looks like a pretty common mushroom and less than a half a mushroom will kill you. It is responsible for the most fatalities world-wide. It apparently tastes nice and takes about 6- 12 hours to take affect after which time you will start feeling pretty shit and then you might start feeling better and then lo and behold you get liver failure and die.  There was a highly publicized case recently in Australia in which a dinner of death caps caused three deaths!

But just as they can be very deathly they also be very tasty and can be used as medicine and have been for thousands of years!