It is estimated there are around 1.5 million fungal species- of which only 80,000 have been discovered. 

Picture Drawn by Bella Cooke © 2003

 Could this be a new species?

So we all know about the fungi in our lives…

  The beer yeasts e.g. Saccharomyces carslbergensis,
   Different yeast which makes bread rise,
   Some antibiotics (penicillins and cephalosporins) and of course
  Edible mushrooms:  Agaricus bisporus…that’s the common white button mushroom found in every supermarket.

However these are by no means the only fungi around, there are many more which we hardly now about.

In fact, it has been reported (although subject to debate about what an exact definition of an individual is), that one type of fungus, Armillaria gallica, is the largest living organism in the world.  As well as being the OLDEST.  A facultative parasite of tree roots, one (I use the term loosely) has been identified in a Michigan forest with a body weight of more than 9,700 kg, an age of over 1500 years and occupying around 37 acres.

BIG- yet not as big as the more recently discovered (2000) fungus Armillaria ostoyae, identified in a National Forest in eastern Oregon, which it is reckoned is 2400 acres in size (that’s about 3.4² miles) and around 2,400 years old.  Who said the blue whale was big??

Quorn- made from Fusarium graminearum, a fungus discovered in Britain in the 60’s in Buckinghamshire… mycoprotein.

Dutch elm disease… Ophiostoma ulmi

Bioluminescent fungi- glow worms are not the only light emitting organisms… Omphalotus olearius.  Picture courtesy of www.wettropics.gov.au

Dry Rot, a common household hazard...another fungi, Serpula lacrimans

Also a huge number of chemicals are taken from fungi, such as cortisone.  Other mycotoxins can be quite dangerous, as was discovered in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, where it is estimated that Claviceps purpurea (a fungi that attacks rye grass) was the cause of many deaths.  Once consumed it resulted in a condition known as Holy or St Anthony’s Fire, which had symptoms of vasoconstriction, making the sufferer feel like parts of their body were on fire due to the poor blood flow.   Today some of the chemicals extracted from the fungi are used to induce labour and ease migraine pain.

However the most important aspect of fungi is their ability to degrade substances, and recycle the nutrients inside them back into the ecosystem.  Without wood rotting fungi these nutrients would otherwise be lost.

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