Fungi & Mushrooms Facts for Kids
Weird and wonderful facts about fungi
Mushrooms are more closely related to animals than to plants — fungi and animals share a common ancestor.
The largest known living organism on Earth is a honey fungus in Oregon, USA, covering about 9.6 square kilometres underground.
Some fungi glow in the dark — this is called bioluminescence, and there are over 130 known species of glowing mushrooms.
Penicillin — the world's first antibiotic — was discovered from a mould called Penicillium by Alexander Fleming in 1928.
Truffles are a type of fungi that can cost thousands of pounds per kilogram, making them one of the most expensive foods in the world.
Some fungi can survive in outer space — living samples have been found on the outside of the International Space Station.
Yeast — used to make bread rise and to brew beer — is a single-celled fungus.
The fairy rings you sometimes see in grass are caused by underground fungal networks growing outward in a circle from a single point.
Fungi were among the first complex organisms to colonise land, around 1.3 billion years ago — long before plants.
Fungal networks called mycorrhizae connect trees underground, allowing them to share water and nutrients — sometimes called the "wood wide web."