\[ **BT: [[eukaryotes]]** ] --- # fungi ![[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021#^fd10db]] [^1] [[There are few places fungi haven't colonised. Their habitats range from the sea floor to deserts, from Antarctica to our own human guts and orifices.]][^2] [[Without fungi, no life on land would exist.]][^3] ## fungi are old as balls #### prototaxites [[Prototaxites were ‘living spires … scattered across the landscape’ 400 million years ago. Some were taller than a two-storey building, and were around for at least 40 million years. They are thought to have been enormous fungi.]][^4] - see also: [[Earth#the Devonian period]] ## characteristics of fungi ### mushrooms [[Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi (the place where spores are produced). Like the fruits of plants, they are merely one part of a much larger structure.]][^5] [[The same way some plants use fruit, mushrooms are a fungus's way to entreat the rest of the world to help disperse their spores.]][^6] ![[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021#^f202ea]] [^7] [[Not all fungi use the mushroom method to disperse their spores. In fact, mushroom-producing fungi are in the minority.]][^8] #### hyphae [[Mushrooms are made of (and by) hyphae.]][^9] ## classification of fungi | FUNGI | Class | Order | Family | Genus | Species | | ----------------------------- | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | [[#Ascomyota (Division)]] | Pezizomycetes | Pezizales | Tuberaceae | *[[#Tuber (Genus)\|Tuber]]* | | | | [[#Sordariomycetes (Class)]] | [[hypocrealeans\|Hypocreales (Order)]] | [[hypocrealeans#Ophiocordycipitaceae (Family)\|Ophiocordycipitaceae (Family)]] | *[[hypocrealeans#Ophiocordyceps (Genus)\|Ophiocordyceps]]* | *[[hypocrealeans#Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (zombie-ant fungus)\|O. unilateralis]]* | | | | | | | | | [[#Basidiomycota (Division)]] | Agaricomycetes (Class) | Agricales | [[#Agaricaceae (Family)]] | *[[#Coprinus (Genus)\|Coprinus]]* | *[[#Coprinus comatus (shaggy ink cap mushoom)\|C. comatus]]* | | | | [[#Polyporales (Order)]] | [[#Fomitopsidaceae (Family)]] | *[[#Fomitopsis (Genus)\|Fomitopsis]]* | *[[#Fomitopsis betulina (birch polypore mushroom)\|F. betulina]]* | | | | | [[#Polyporaceae (Family)]] | *[[#Formes (Genus)\|Fomes]]* | *[[#Fomes fomentarius (tinder fungus)\|F. fomentarius]]* | | | | | | | | ### Ascomyota (Division) #### Pezizomycetes (Class) ##### Tuberaceae (Family) ##### *Tuber* (Genus) ###### truffles Truffles are the fruiting bodies of subterranean fungi from the genus *Tuber*.[^10] [[The aromas produced by truffles have made them among the most expensive foods in the world.]][^11] [[Truffles with better 'chemistry' (scent) will more successfully attract animals.]][^12] [[In many languages, the word for truffles translates to 'testicle', as in the old Castillian turmas de tierra (Earth's testicles).]][^13] [[Truffles have long been associated with sex.]][^14] #### Sordariomycetes (Class) ##### Hypocreales (Order) - **See:** [[hypocrealeans]] ### Basidiomycota (Division) #### Agaricaceae (Family) ##### *Coprinus* (Genus) ###### *Coprinus comatus* (shaggy ink cap mushoom) [[Young, freshly-gathered shaggy ink cap mushrooms are edible. They fry well. If not eaten soon after picking, they will dye everything cooked with them black.]][^15] [[Shaggy ink cap mushrooms (Coprinus comatus) can push their way through asphalt and lift heavy paving stones, although they themselves are delicate.]][^16] [[Actual ink can be made from shaggy ink cap mushrooms (Coprinus comatus). They will turn to ink on their own; however, for improved ink, simply heat the ink caps with some water and cloves.]][^17] #### Fomitopsidaceae (Family) ##### *Fomitopsis* (Genus) ###### *Fomitopsis betulina* (birch polypore mushroom) Also known as **birch polypore mushrooms**.[^18] Have medicinal properties, known since the Copper Age (late [[Pleistocene#Neolithic|Neolithic]]).[^19] [[Among Ötzi's belongs were wads of tinder fungus (likely used to start fire) and fragments of birch polypore mushrooms (likely medicinal).]][^20] #### Polyporaceae (Family) ##### *Formes* (Genus) ###### *Fomes fomentarius* (tinder fungus) This fungus has likely been used as tinder since the [[Pleistocene#Neolithic|Neolithic]].[^21] [[Among Ötzi's belongs were wads of tinder fungus (likely used to start fire) and fragments of birch polypore mushrooms (likely medicinal).]][^22] ## fungi–human relationships [[There are few places fungi haven't colonised. Their habitats range from the sea floor to deserts, from Antarctica to our own human guts and orifices.]][^2] [[Robigus was the Roman god of mildew.]][^23] ### beneficial (to humans) fungi #### agarwood [[Agarwood is a fungal infection of Aquilaria trees.]][^24] #### citric acid - see: [[matter and energy#citric acid|citric acid]] - external: [Yigitoglu, M. ‘Production of Citric Acid by Fungi’, 1992](https://jag.journalagent.com/ias/pdfs/IAS_5_2_100_106.pdf) #### food - see: - [[#truffles|truffles]] - [[#*Coprinus comatus* (shaggy ink cap mushoom)|shaggy ink cap mushrooms]] #### industrial enzymes [[60% of industrial enzymes are generated by fungi.]][^25] #### ink - see: [[#*Coprinus comatus* (shaggy ink cap mushoom)|shaggy ink cap mushrooms]] #### medicine [[Neanderthals made conscious use of medicinal plants and fungi—e.g. a dental abscess had been eating a type penicillin-producing mould.]][^26] (See: [[fungi#*Fomitopsis betulina* (birch polypore mushroom)|birch polypore mushroom]]) [[Australian First Nations people ‘treated wounds with moulds harvested from the shaded side of euxalyptus trees’.]][^27] [[Ancient Egyptian papyruses (from 1500 BCE) refer to the curative properties of mould.]][^28] [[The Talmud recounts a mould cure known as 'chamka'; chamka is produced by soaking mouldy grain in date wine.]][^29] (See: [[religion#Judaism|Judaism]]) [[In 1640, the King's herbalist in London 'described the use of moulds to treat wounds.']][^30] ##### penicillin - [[The discovery of penicillin arguably helped shift the balance of power during World War II.]][^31] ##### other medicines - **cyclosporine** (immunosuppressant; makes organ transplants possible)[^32] - **cholesterol-lowering statins**[^33] - “a host of powerful antiviral and anti-cancer compounds’[^34] - [[life#ethyl alcohol, alcohol consumption|alcohol]] - psilocybin #### tinder - see: [[#*Fomes fomentarius* (tinder fungus)|tinder fungus]] #### waste removal ##### nuclear waste [[One species of fungi, isolated from mining waste, is the most radiant-resistant organisms discovered. It might be capable of cleaning up nuclear waste sites.]][^35] #### yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago. At least 1,500 species are currently recognized.[^36] The source of both [[life#ethyl alcohol, alcohol consumption|alcohols]] and [[technology#baked goods|bread]]. ### fungal disease [[There is a fungal disease, which infects amphibians, has been spread internationally via humans; it has already driven at least ninety species to extinction and threatens hundreds more.]][^37] [[Cavendish bananas are being decimated by fungal disease and face extinction.]][^38] ### parasitic fungi - see: [[parasites and parasitoids#parasitic fungi|parasitic fungi]] ## ↬ external resources - [Index Fungorum](http://www.indexfungorum.org/) + [Mycobank](https://www.mycobank.org/) - [Yigitoglu, M. ‘Production of Citric Acid by Fungi’, 1992](https://jag.journalagent.com/ias/pdfs/IAS_5_2_100_106.pdf) ## endnotes [^1]: Merlin Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]* (Vintage, 2021), p. 3. [^2]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 5. [^3]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 2. [^4]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 4. [^5]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 5. [^6]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, pp. 5–6. [^7]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 6. [^8]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 6. [^9]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 7. [^10]: ‘Truffle’, Wikipedia, last edited 12 January 2026, 13:34 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truffle. [^11]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 7. [^12]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 28. [^13]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 31. [^14]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 31. [^15]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 7; ‘[[Wild Food UK, ‘Shaggy Inkcap’, n.d.|Shaggy Inkcap]]’, Wild Food UK, accessed 14 January 2026, https://www.wildfooduk.com/mushroom-guide/shaggy-inkcap/. [^16]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 7; ‘[[Wild Food UK, ‘Shaggy Inkcap’, n.d.|Shaggy Inkcap]]’, Wild Food UK, accessed 14 January 2026. [^17]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 7; ‘[[Wild Food UK, ‘Shaggy Inkcap’, n.d.|Shaggy Inkcap]]’, Wild Food UK, accessed 14 January 2026. [^18]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^19]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^20]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^21]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^22]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^23]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 8. [^24]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 32. [^25]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 10. [^26]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^27]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^28]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^29]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^30]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^31]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 7. [^32]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 10. [^33]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 10. [^34]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 10. [^35]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 5. [^36]: ‘Yeasts’, Wikipedia, last edited 12 January 2026, 14:33 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast. [^37]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9. [^38]: Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]*, p. 9.