Fungi are valuable decomposers in the environment. B. Major Groups 1. Over 56,000 species of fungi have been identified and there are many more. About 430 million years ago fungi started invading the land. C. Key Features of Fungal Life Cycles 1.
Fungi reproduce both asexually and sexually, producing large numbers of nonmotile spores.
The food-absorbing part of the fungus is a mesh of branching filaments called the mycelium. Each tubular filament is a hypha with chitinous walls. Interconnections and perforations allow cytoplasmic flow necessary for transport to nonabsorptive parts of the body. Consider the Club Fungi A. A Sampling of Spectacular Diversity 1. Club fungi include commonly seen puffballs and shelf fungi, rusts and smuts, as well as edible mushrooms.