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Biology curricula cover fungi in units on bacteria, protists, and primitive plants, but fungi are more closely related to animals than to bacteria or plants. Like animals, fungi are heterotrophs and cannot create their own food; but, like plants, fungi have cell walls, and are for the most part immobile. Most species of fungi have a filamentous body with indeterminate growth; individual fungi can grow indefinitely until they are enormous and ancient. Students are surprised to learn that the largest and oldest organisms on Earth are fungi, not whales and trees. Fungi are extremely diverse but much of this biodiversity has yet to be described, as only 5% of an estimated 1.5 million fungal species have names. Teachers can help make the fungal kingdom less mysterious and obscure by conducting classroom activities involving fungi. In this article, the authors describe a series of field and laboratory activities to help teachers introduce students to the symbiotic fungi that are ubiquitous |
