A Walk in the Woods with Fun Guys
I can’t lie. I’m in love with fun guys. Okay, they’re really pronounced fun-jai, not fun-guy, but that doesn’t diminish my attraction.
I wander in the spring woods and grin at shell-shaped appendages on a dead tree trunk that I jokingly call the “fan club” because they look like a congregation of Japanese fans. In the autumn, I happen upon a delightful family of tiny violet umbrellas popping out of the ground and point with glee, “cort mushrooms!”
Both are part of the fabulous fungal kingdom, which has been on earth more than a billion years longer than the earliest humans. Here are a few fun facts about this wondrous empire – the most populous on our planet!
They’re like us. Well, more like us than plants. Crazy as it sounds, fungi are biologically closer to animals because they breathe in oxygen, give out CO2, and rely on other organisms for food. (Plants “eat” sunlight and CO2 to make their own food.)
They outnumber every other living thing. From toadstools to truffles to troublesome mold, scientists estimate the fungal kingdom emcompasses over 1.5 million species.
They include the biggest organism on earth. The ancient Armillaria ostoyae, nicknamed the “Humongous Fungus,” covers 3.7 square miles (and growing) in a forest in Oregon.
They save the planet every day. Fungi break down organic matter, releasing carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Without fungi, dead trees and plants would become mountains of debris instead of rich soil.
They might be the answer to toxic pollution. Bioremediation researchers are studying mushrooms capable of cleaning up oil spills, contaminated soils, and even breaking down plastics.
They heal and give us yummy treats. Baker’s yeast and life-saving Penicillium are kinds of fungus. More recently, products formed with fungi have been used to replace Styrofoam, leather, and building materials.
They also kill. From fungal infections to poisonous mushrooms, this kingdom contains plenty of human foes.
They glow in the dark. Dozens of bioluminescent species glimmer green at night to attract insects that scatter their spores.
They’re nature’s internet. Above ground, mushrooms are the most visible part of fungi. But below the soil lies a vast communications system of thread-like roots called mycelium. This mycelial network relays crucial info across vast distances about food sources, predators and other threats. Scientists are even finding that fungi link together trees and other plants in a sort of “wood-wide-web” that is a win-win for the fungi and their partners.
Next time you’re in a forest, see how many of these mighty fun guys you can find, and know they might be talking about the giants walking past them. How cool is that?
