Mushroom magic:Neither plant nor animal, fungi occupy a kingdom all their own

摘要

Sprouting in the most unlikely locations, fungi thrive across the Australian continent, pushing through dry desert soils and lush rainforest floors. The 'fruit-body' that you see growing up through the ground is but a fraction of the organism - as little as 10 per cent - and it's only there for a short time. Hidden beneath the colourful cups and caps, an expansive network of tiny thread-like roots, called mycelium, feeds and expands year round. Unlike plants, fungi don't have to rely on sunlight forfood. Instead, they get their nutrients in three ways: saprotrophic organisms feed on decaying organic matter, while parasitic and mutualistic fungi gain nutrients from other living organisms.