Fungi, Lichens
Click here to view the list of Fungi, Lichens present in Kentucky
Characteristics :
- Most have cells with walls, similar to plant cells.
- Do not have chlorophyll and cannot make their own food as plants do.
- Cannot ingest food like animals do, therefore they must absorb it across their cell walls and membranes.
- Most are many-celled (multicellular) with body consisting of tangled mass of tiny filaments called hyphae; yeast is one-celled (unicellular) and has no hyphae.
- Most reproduce both asexually (single-celled spore) and sexually (union of two different mating types) during the life cycle.
- Do not move about; spores and broken hyphae are means of dispersal.
- Have no roots, stems, leaves, flowers, or seeds.
- Lichens are a combination of fungus and algae in which both are dependent upon the other; the algae provides the food and the fungus provides the water and minerals
Taxanomy:
- Kingdom: Fungi
- Phylum:
Ascomycota (sac fungi, such as morels, truffles, yeasts)
Basidiomycota (club fungi, such as mushrooms, puffballs, rusts)
Deuteromycota (imperfect fungi, such as ring-worm, athlete’s foot)
Mycophycophyta (lichens)
Oomycota (prototistlike fungi, such as mildew, potato blight, water mold)
Zygomycota (common molds, such as black bread mold)
