Mycology facts for kids

Mycology is the study of fungi (fungus). This includes their genetics, their biochemical properties (the chemical processes in them), their classification, their use to humans and their dangers (poisonous or infectious). Fungi are a source of tinder (easily combustible material to light fires), medicines, food, and entheogens (a psychoactive substance). A biologist who studies mycology is called a mycologist.

Mycology is closely related to phytopathology (the study of plant diseases), because most plant diseases are caused by fungi. Historically, mycology was a branch of botany (plant biology). Now fungi are known to be more closely related to animals than to plants.

Fungi are fundamental (essential) for life on Earth. they are symbionts (an organism living in a mutually beneficial relationship with another organism from a different species). They can break down complex organic biomolecules, and so they are a link in the global carbon cycle.

Related pages

• Palynology, the study of tiny particles, including fungus spores.

Images for kids

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  Mushrooms are considered a kind of fungal reproductive organ.

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  Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913

See also

In Spanish: Micología para niños