Fungi can be single celled or multicellular organisms that reproduce using spores. Fungi do not photosynthesise like plants, instead getting their food requirements from dead and decaying plants and animals via microscopic threads called hyphae. A small number of fungi are parasites, living in or on another host organism.
Fungi are found in a variety of habitats, but are most common in damp, warm places.
Because fungi are not animals, plants or bacteria, Biologists have placed fungi into their own kingdom, Mycota.
Mushrooms, yeast and moulds are some of the more common fungi. Scientists who study fungi are known as mycologists.
Did you know?
A small number of fungi can cause diseases in humans. In 1928, Penicillin was first used to treat bacterial infection in humans. Penicillin is made from a blue mould and is today the most widely used antibiotic in medicine.
