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The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and Pliny. [10] This in turn is derived from the Greek word sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms and molds; [11] the root is also used in other languages, such as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel ('mold').
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. [1] Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and infection.
The Fungi are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants and animals. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology or fungal biology, which is historically regarded as a branch of botany, even though genetic
The Russulaceae are a diverse family of fungi in the order Russulales, with roughly 1,900 known species and a worldwide distribution. They comprise the brittlegills and the milk-caps, well-known mushroom-forming fungi that include some edible species. These gilled mushrooms are characterised by the brittle flesh of their fruitbodies.
Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species . [ 3 ] The defining feature of this fungal group is the " ascus " (from Ancient Greek ἀσκός ( askós ) 'sac, wineskin'), a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores , called ascospores , are formed.
In doing so, mycorrhizal fungi promote community ecology, with an added complexity of niche differentiation of different networks and types of mycorrhizal fungi that root at different depths, disperse different organic compounds and nutrients, and have unique interactions with specific species of plants. [17]
Monotropa uniflora, an obligate myco-heterotroph known to parasitize fungi belonging to the Russulaceae. [1]Myco-heterotrophy (from Greek μύκης mýkes ' fungus ', ἕτερος héteros ' another ', ' different ' and τροφή trophé ' nutrition ') is a symbiotic relationship between certain kinds of plants and fungi, in which the plant gets all or part of its food from parasitism upon ...
The mammals that feed on fungi are as diverse as fungi themselves and are called mycophages. Squirrels and chipmunks eat the greatest variety of fungi, but there are many other mammals that also forage on fungi, such as marsupials , mice , rats , voles , lemmings , deer , shrews , rabbits , weasels , and more.