Fascinating Fungi

Do you like eating mushroom omelettes and camembert, have you taken penicillin to cure an infection, or do you have a backyard compost bin? If you do any of these things, then you must be a fungi lover!

Fungi are multi-skilled – they can break down nutrients in soil, produce antibiotics, and even make a tasty meal. Mushrooms come in different shapes and sizes, and we often think of them as vegetables. But fungi are neither plants nor animals – they’ve got their very own kingdom of life.

Most fungi, apart from yeast, tend to grow as filaments called hyphae. Think of hyphae as threads that are too small to see. They grow through the food that the fungus is eating. The mushrooms that we eat are the fruiting bodies of these hidden networks of hyphae. But they’re made of filaments too, meshed together rather like fibreglass.

If you’ve ever had a mushroom farm at home, you would have experienced the magic of watching mushrooms appear out of nowhere. Mushroom farms are filled with compost, which is interlaced with the hyphae of the fungi. When you water the compost, the fungi produce their fruiting bodies, which are the mushrooms.

Nutritionists know that mushrooms are really good for us. They’re a great source of B vitamins and contain minerals including iron and selenium. So mushrooms are not only tasty, but also packed with nutrients. Would you care for a mushroom omelette?

By Arwen Cross

Find out more at the RiAus event, Fun with Fungi @ Adelaide Showground Farmers Market. Click here.