| Fungi singular: fungus |
Mould growing on an orange
Poisonous toadstools
|
| Fungi
are a large and diverse group of eukaryotic, non-photosynthetic, spore-forming
organisms. They have rigid cell walls. Respiration takes place in
bodies called mitochondria in the cytoplasm. Fungal cells have an
elaborate arrangement of internal membranes. Fungi can be divided
into two broad groups: filamentous fungi (including moulds
and macrofungi) and yeasts. Fungi reproduce by sexual and asexual means. Most produce spores which in some types are borne on bodies called sporangia. Both spores and sporangia vary widely in size and form, depending on how they are spread - by wind, water, mechanical means or vectors. Macrofungi produce large fruiting bodies which are familiar to us as mushrooms and toadstools. Spores are produced in huge numbers and dispersed into the environment where they germinate and produce hyphae if the conditions are favourable. |
© SGM, 2005 (last updated 21 January, 2005)
