Purple structure on rye caused by an ascomycete. Produces lysergic acid, from which LSD is made. Toxins from fungi may be used in weak doses for medical purposes such as treating high blood pressure. Edible Fungi Fungi are consumed as food by a variety of animals, including humans. In many other countries, however, people eat a variety of cultivated and wild mushrooms.
Truffles prized by gourmets are underground ascocarps of mycelia that are mycorrhizal on tree roots.
Since it is difficult for novices to distinguish between poisonous and edible mushrooms, only qualified experts at identification should collect wild mushrooms for eating. Fungi and animals probably evolved from a common protistan ancestor The Chytridiomycota and Fungi may share a protistan ancestor. Chytrids were placed in the Kingdom Protista because they form flagellated zoospores and gametes - a protistan characteristic. Cell walls of chitin. Most form hyphae.