What is the study of fungi called?
Quick answer
The scientific study of fungi is called mycology, from the Greek mykes (“fungus” or mushroom) and -logia (“study”). Scientists who study fungi are mycologists. Mycology covers mushrooms, molds, yeasts and other fungi, including their use in food and medicine and their role in nature.
Fungi are their own kingdom
Fungi were once grouped with plants, but they’re very different:
| Fungi | Plants | |
|---|---|---|
| Make their own food? | No, they absorb nutrients | Yes, by photosynthesis |
| Cell walls made of | Chitin (also in insect shells) | Cellulose |
| Store energy as | Glycogen (like animals) | Starch |
Genetically, fungi are actually more closely related to animals than to plants.
How many fungi are there?
Scientists have described about 150,000 species, but estimates suggest there may be 2 to 4 million or more. Most are invisible threads called hyphae, which form networks called mycelium underground.
Fungi in everyday life
| Use | Fungus |
|---|---|
| Bread and beer | Yeast, which makes CO₂ and alcohol; see how to make sourdough bread |
| Cheese | Molds give blue cheese and brie their flavor |
| Soy sauce and miso | Aspergillus molds; see what miso is made from |
| Medicine | Penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 from Penicillium mold |
The “wood wide web”
Most plants partner with fungi called mycorrhizae. The fungi help roots absorb water and minerals, and in return get sugar from the plant. These underground networks can link trees across a forest.
Record breakers
- A honey fungus (Armillaria ostoyae) in Oregon’s Blue Mountains spreads across about 9 km², often called the largest living organism by area. It may be thousands of years old.
- Some fungi glow in the dark, a phenomenon called foxfire.
Branches of mycology
Mycologists may specialize in medical fungi that cause infections, plant diseases such as rusts, edible and poisonous mushrooms, or using fungi to break down pollution. Identifying wild mushrooms takes expert knowledge, since some deadly species look like edible ones.
Fungi lack the green pigment plants use to capture sunlight; see why leaves change color.
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