This is the best
time of the year to visit the countryside in search of fungi. Armed with a
simple camera one should be able to find a good number of species especially in
wooded areas such as Buskett Gardens and Wied il-Luq.
Mid-autumn is a
good time to find mushrooms because the soil is wet and the air is still
relatively warm.
About 100,000
fungi have been identified although it is estimated that there can be up to
five million species most of which are still to be identified.
About three
hundred species of fungi can be found in the Maltese islands. They grow on a
wide range of substrates both in the countryside and on man-made objects.
Most people assume
that fungi are members of the plant kingdom. Fungi are sessile, they have what
look like roots and reproduce by means of spores. In fact this was the belief
until in the late sixties it was discovered that fungi are closer to animals
than to plants which led to them being assigned a kingdom of their own.
The cell wall of
fungi is composed of chitin. Chitin is the main component of the external
skeleton of arthropods such as insects and lobsters and is also found in some
mollusc structures. Plants do not produce chitin.
Fungi consist of
an array of tiny filaments that look like plant roots, known as hyphae. The
hyphae are hidden in soil, wood or other organic material on which the fungus
can feed.
The hyphae produce
acids and enzymes which digest the food outside the cells. The organic material
is broken down into simpler compounds which are then absorbed into the cells.
Fungi can live on
a very wide range of living or dead organic material. Fungi play an important
role in the recycling of nutrients breaking down dead plants and animals into
compounds that can be absorbed and utilised by plants. On the other hand fungi
that feed on living plants and animals often cause disease or death.
The mushrooms with
which we are familiar are nothing but a fruiting body whose function is solely to
produce spores and to release them in air so that they drift as far as possible
from the parent fungus.
This article was published in The Times of Malta on 26 November 2014.
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