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Fungi have appeared, too, from time to time, in literature and art. Fungi create harm by spoiling food, destroying timber, and by causing diseases of crops, livestock, and humans. Fungi, mainly moulds like Penicillium and Aspergillus, spoil many stored foods. Fungi cause the majority of plant diseases, which in turn cause serious economic losses.
The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and Pliny. [10] This in turn is derived from the Greek word sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms and molds; [11] the root is also used in other languages, such as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel ('mold').
A fraction of the many fungi consumed by humans are currently cultivated and sold commercially. Commercial cultivation is important ecologically, as there have been concerns of the depletion of larger fungi such as chanterelles in Europe, possibly because the group has grown popular, yet remains a challenge to cultivate.
The irony is fermented food products, like sourdough, and those rife with fungi, such as blue cheese, have long reigned over the food scene in the U.S. Kombucha—the beloved moldy, fermented ...
Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and infection. Yeasts are among the most heavily utilized members of the Kingdom Fungi, particularly in food manufacturing. [2] Mycology branches into the field of phytopathology, the study of plant diseases. The two disciplines are closely related ...
Some fungi, types of polypores loosely called mushrooms, have been used as fire starters (known as tinder fungi). Mushrooms and other fungi play a role in the development of new biological remediation techniques (e.g., using mycorrhizae to spur plant growth) and filtration technologies (e.g. using fungi to lower bacterial levels in contaminated ...
A banana slug feeding on Amanita. Many terrestrial gastropod mollusks are known to feed on fungi. It is the case in several species of slugs from distinct families.Among them are the Philomycidae (e. g. Philomycus carolinianus and Phylomicus flexuolaris) and Ariolimacidae (Ariolimax californianus), which respectively feed on slime molds (myxomycetes) and mushrooms (basidiomycetes). [5]
Medicinal fungi are fungi that contain metabolites or can be induced to produce metabolites through biotechnology to develop prescription drugs. Compounds successfully developed into drugs or under research include antibiotics , anti-cancer drugs , cholesterol and ergosterol synthesis inhibitors, psychotropic drugs, immunosuppressants and ...