What are fungi and why are they found in woods?
Many people think fungi are plants but in fact, fungi are so unique they have been allocated a separate kingdom all of their own.
Fungi like humidity and woods provide the constant high humidity levels that they need. But fungi are also slow growing and don’t like change which is why a lot of fungi are associated with ancient woodland.
Fungi are also important to trees because they are rubbish at making their own food - not an obvious connection - but it means that the fungi has to strike a deal with the roots of a tree.
The fungi supplies the tree with nutrients from the soil and the tree gives the fungi some sugar. This means that both the tree and the fungi grow much better together than each does on their own.
Most people love the picturesque fungi species, such as the fly agaric, but what about the more boring looking mushrooms? They also do a very important job.
Fungi do most of the decomposing in a wood, without them we would be up to our ears in dead trees, plants and animals. And that would not be a pretty sight!
So, next time you see some boring old mushroom just remember they are very important too!
What are lichens and why are they found in woods?
Lichens are those weird orange, white, green or brown crusts that you see on old stones and on tree trunks and branches and despite looking a bit boring and dead, are very much alive!
But, actually lichens are not one organism but two.
They are made up of a fungi and an algae combined. So, a bit like the fact that fungi have a relationships with trees, lichens are fungi that have relationship with algae.
These relationships are pretty intense as these fungi cannot live without the algae.
But, unlike other fungi, lichens can last for a very long time without any water at all.
However, lichens are picky souls.
For instance, the Degelia plumbea lichen species is very sensitive to pollution and only likes the very purest air. It will also only grow on smooth bark that is rich in nutrients. As such, it’s a pretty rare lichen.