New to the Glossary: Fungus

by Mary Free and Christa Watters, Extension Master Gardeners

Today’s addition to our MGNV Glossary is a cluster of words associated with fungi. Formerly classified as plants, fungi are neither plants nor animals but a separate kingdom of their own. Fungi are eukaryotic organisms, meaning they have cells with membrane-bound nuclei. They are also heterotrophic, meaning they absorb nutrients from their environment instead of producing their own food like plants do. They include rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, mushrooms, and yeasts. Fungi can be a bane in the garden, causing disease and death or they can be beneficial as sources for medicines and food.

Some fungi form symbiotic relationships. Mycorrhiza is the symbiotic association of the mycelium of a fungus with the roots of a seed plant. Mycorrhizal fungi help improve the soil, stabilizing their plant hosts, enhancing nutrient and water absorption, and increasing resistance to diseases. In return, plants provide these fungi with carbohydrates produced through photosynthesis. Gardeners can encourage the growth of mycorrhiza by “leaving the leaves” in their garden beds and around their trees and shrubs in fall. 

Learn more about the various fungi and mycorrhizae here.

---