Fungus

Group:

Fungus

© Erica Bower

The stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus) is a type of fungus

Food chain :

Decomposer

What it eats :

Wood and other plant matter.

Eaten by:

Many soil invertebrates eat fungal hyphae. Slugs and the grubs of fungus gnats eat fruiting bodies.

Habitat:

Woodland; Dead Wood; Wildflower grasslandWoodland; Dead Wood; Wildflower grassland

Description:

Most living things can be divided into Plants, Animals and Fungi. (There are other groups for microscopic life forms.) Fungi (the plural of fungus) are not plants, because they cannot make their own food. They are also not animals, because they cannot move. Fungi eat by breaking down other organisms, usually plants. They are nature's recyclers. Fungi live as tiny thread-like hyphae that spread through wood or soil. Sometimes they produce fruiting bodies. Mushrooms and other fruiting bodies are often the only clue that soil and wood is full of fungi.