by Vivienne Vent

Fig. 1: Fungi can live as pathogens as well as in a mutualistic relationship with various other species. An example of such mutualistic interaction are lichens. Photo: ©Vivienne Vent 2021

Eatable, inedible, deadly. Tiny and of enormous size. Hardly any life form is as diverse as that of the fungi. Neither they can be called animals nor plants, they form their own taxon amongst the living organisms. Even though, they are a big part of our nutrition, we barely know how complex these organisms actually are. For example, did you know that the planets biggest living organism is in fact a fungus? Or did you know that fungi made the evolution of many life forms on earth possible by establishing complex interactions aka symbioses? Find out more about these fascinating organisms!

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