FUNGI

Fungi are relatively well-evolved living things that are neither plants nor animals, and they include a diverse group of organisms, such as yeasts, moulds, and mushrooms. They are heterotrophic, meaning they obtain nutrients by absorbing them from their environment. Fungi play a crucial role in ecosystems by decomposing organic matter and forming symbiotic relationships with plants and animals.

It's mushroom time in Melbourne, and although many people collect wild mushrooms to eat, as they are delicious, it is important to distinguish them from toxic toadstools and poisonous mushrooms, because ingesting those may cause serious illness or death...

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

LICHEN

A lichen (do you say LY-kən or LITCH-ən???) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship, where each organism gains benefits from the other. Lichens are important forces in nutrient cycling and act as producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails.

Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in many colours, sizes, and forms and are sometimes plant-like, but are not plants. They may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose); flat leaf-like structures (foliose); grow crust-like, adhering tightly to a surface (substrate) like a thick coat of paint (crustose); have a powder-like appearance (leprose); or other growth forms.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.