PET FUNGUS

Mycologists are the people who study mushrooms and according to them there are more than 10,000 types of mushrooms but are categorized into four.  These are the mycorrhizal, parasitic, endophytic and saprotrophic.  These different kinds of mushrooms are categorized in this manner because it is easier to define them on how they feed themselves for them to grow.

These mushrooms as we all know are fungi.  They start out as spores and grow on mediums that are moist and from there grow the mushrooms that we benefit from.  In this article, we will be understanding the ways these types of mushrooms are generally regardless if they are edible or not.  Some examples of these mushrooms will be stated as we go along the discussion so that we become familiar with each mushroom belonging to their respective categories.

Let’s now discuss the mycorrhizal types.  Mycorrhizal mushrooms weave on the roots of plants  which are called endomycorrhizal or they wrap around them instead which are called ectomycorrhizal.  Their mycelia produces more moisture, phosphorous and other known nutrients to the host plant in which they get from it glucose or sugars that they use to feed.  This reaction makes the plant to grow faster and healthier.  Some examples are truffles and matsutake.

Next we have parasitic types of mushrooms that also use plants as their medium.  Unlike the mycorrhizal that there is a two-way benefit for both fungi and plant, this type is actually gonna destroy or kill the plant.  An example is the honey mushroom parasitic fungi that will use the plant as its host and won’t produce mushrooms and they are unnoticeable too because of their small size when they grow on the tree or plant.

Endophytic mushrooms also are found in plants and their characteristic is to attack the tissue of the host.  They are not like the parasitic that kill this host but instead the host remains healthy and gets nutrients as well. Mycologists can easily study the endopytic types of mushrooms because they can be grown even inside laboratories without their hosts.  They too do not produce mushrooms and still a lot of studies are needed to further understand their behavior.

Finally we have the saprotrophic mushrooms which are the decomposing types of mushrooms.  These fungi discharges acids that break down the tissues into molecules that they can absorb from their host.  In that way the reaction to the host like a wood would decay it.  Even plants or animals can become hosts to this saprotrophic mushroom.  We believe this type of mushroom is one of the most important types to be able to feed on decaying matter.  Some examples of this type are the morels, cremini and oyster mushrooms.