Among the forest flora, there are quite a lot of mysterious inhabitants. But one species of plant organisms is rightfully in the top positions of the conditional rating of mystery and little studied. It's about mushrooms. Scientists still do not know exactly what kind of organisms they belong to: flora or fauna. Until recently, mushrooms were considered representatives of the plant world. But now, botanists are increasingly inclined to refute this assumption. And if so, then they relate to the animal world. In this case, a very curious question arises: "How do mushrooms eat?"
The kingdom of mushrooms
The study of these amazing creations of nature is engaged in a whole area of ​​botany. It is called mycology (and how the mushrooms eat, 7th grade learns in school). Even if we proceed from the Latin designation of mushrooms - Fungi, or Mycota, it becomes clear that this is the whole world. Or, as some scientists say, the realm of unexplored organisms.
The main feature of mushrooms is that they combine the characteristics of both the animal and plant worlds. Such a union of botany is called eukaryotic organisms. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, some scholars proposed in their writings to isolate mushrooms in a separate kingdom. However, a final opinion on this issue was formed only in the 70s of the XX century. It was then that scientists justified the need to isolate mushrooms in a separate world. In the second half of the XX century, the accumulated knowledge in the field of studying the wondrous kingdom allowed scientists to divide these organisms into several lines that are absolutely not related to each other and distribute them among different kingdoms.
According to the results of the research, only one species is considered a “real” mushroom. We are used to the fact that this is a “plant” with a hat and a leg, which lives mainly in forests. In fact, all kinds of molds and germs are also called fungi. And to compare them with those that live in the clearing in the moss is almost impossible. After all - and at least - bacteria and fungi eat differently.
At the beginning of the XXI century, even the very definition of “mushrooms” is perceived ambiguously. If we talk about a very narrow interpretation, which relates to biological systematics, then it will be more appropriate to use the term "taxon" (one of the species of the kingdoms of wildlife). In the old, more expanded understanding, this designation has lost its original meaning. Today it defines an ecotrophic group that combines heterotrophic eukaryotes with an osmotrophic type of self-sufficiency (this is what interests us: how mushrooms eat). Biology is still studying the issue. But, as for the usual representatives of this genus with a leg and a hat, it is traditionally determined by mycology. Let's try and we will deal with the "ordinary" and "familiar" mushrooms that inhabit our forests and meadows.
Diversity
The biological and ecological diversity of the kingdom is enormous. This is one of the largest forms of living organisms, which are an integral part of all terrestrial and aquatic ecological systems. According to modern research, today from 100 to 250 thousand different types of mushrooms are known.
In 2008, in the kingdom of Fungi, scientists counted 36 classes, 140 orders, 560 families and 8,283 used generic names of representatives of this species. Impressive numbers! Of course, mushrooms occupy an important niche in environmental interaction with humans. They are present in almost any natural conditions: in water, on land, on all kinds of substrates.
How do mushrooms eat? The short answer is quite simple: they are reducers, i.e. they decompose all kinds of organic materials, while contributing to the formation of new fertile soil layers. This can be considered primitively nutrition. But do not forget that such processes play a rather important role in the ecology of the entire biosphere.
All-round application
Another great importance of the life of fungi is revealed in all kinds of symbiotic communities. For example, mycorrhiza is the association of mycelium with the roots of higher plants, lichens are the symbiosis of the fungus with blue-green algae, etc. And representatives of the neocalimastigaceae order are an obligatory component of the digestive process in ruminants. And we don’t have to talk about which animals eat mushrooms. Just start listing!
If we talk about man, then, as we know, a lot of types of mushrooms are used for food, medical and household purposes. The culinary dishes of many cuisines of the world consist of this nutritious, tasty and healthy product. Their industrial breeding is very popular. There is a whole industry for the production of special materials for growing mushrooms. These products are intended for amateurs who breed them at home. Such farmers need to know how mushrooms eat. Answers will significantly affect productivity and labor.
And the smallest microscopic fungi are often used in the food industry for the preparation of beverages, in the production of which the fermentation process is important. Not ignored, and medicine. In modern biotechnology for the production of antibiotics, some types of these microorganisms are also used.
Mushroom hazards
However, mushrooms can be harmful. We must not forget that phytopathogenic fungi that grow in an undisturbed ecological system can become a very serious safety problem. Usually not dangerous, in artificially created conditions or in places of human activity, they can cause skin diseases - dermatomycosis, and sometimes serious damage to internal organs - deep mycoses. And this concerns not only people, but also animals.
Poisoning with “traditional” poisonous mushrooms can be a very great danger to humans. In some cases, even death is possible. Such poisoning is usually caused by the consumption of highly toxic or hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Simple classification
Talking about these amazing organisms, I want to answer such an important and interesting question: "How do mushrooms eat?" The answers are very diverse, and this is despite the fact that most of them belong to the same group - the basidial class. Its representatives have quite serious differences in terms of natural food intake.
If we classify the edible gifts of the forest according to how mushrooms grow and how they eat, then they can be divided into three main groups:
- humus saprotrophs;
- wood-destroying mushrooms;
- mycorrhiza forming.
Humus saprotrophs include those fungi whose mycelium spreads in the humus layer of the soil. Mushrooms feed on organic substances accumulated in extinct wood, grass, etc. It is interesting that many of them grow in open spaces - fields, meadows, and in steppe zones. This group primarily includes such well-known mushrooms as champignons, raincoats and dung beetles. And how do predator mushrooms eat? When there is nothing to profit, they become saprotrophs. But they prefer to catch all kinds of living microorganisms. For this, predators have special devices that allow you to catch prey. Most often these are the sticky parts of the body of the fungus: hyphae, nets, twigs of mycelium. But there are those who literally strangle the victim, rapidly increasing in size.
The name of the second group speaks for itself. Tree-destroying mushrooms, or xylotrophs, usually live on wood. The nutritional processes of such mushrooms are carried out due to the beneficial properties that are in the bark of trees. As a rule, such mushrooms live in forests and, in turn, are divided into two conditional groups: parasite mushrooms and saprotroph mushrooms. When studying the question of how parasite fungi eat, it becomes clear that it is they who seriously destroy trees, settling on their bark. Although some of them prefer to grow on already dead wood, changing the way they eat to saprotrophic.
Most artificially cultivated mushrooms - xylotrophs - belong to the subgroup of saprotrophs. As a rule, they develop on stumps or dead wood. Among this species, it is worth noting the well-known oyster mushroom, summer mushroom and shiitake. These mushrooms are valuable in that they can be grown year-round in artificial conditions. In special rooms, taking, for example, waste from the woodworking industry, it is quite possible to organize a kind of farm.
Symbiosis of plants
Mycorrhizal fungi, which are the third conditional group, are much worse amenable to artificial cultivation. During development, they are closely connected with the roots of large trees, forming mycorrhiza on them - a kind of root system. In this case, a full symbiosis occurs, since the tree and the mushroom are equally useful to each other. Wood provides the mushroom with the energy it needs, and he, in turn, provides the tree with the necessary mineral nutrients. Mostly phosphorus and nitrogen.
How do mushrooms eat? The underground part spreads densely in the soil, braiding the root of the main plant and performing the function of root hairs. Part of the hyphae, penetrating the root system of the main tree, extracts nutrients from it. Another one extracts water, mineral salts and other soluble substances, mainly nitrogenous, from the soil. The substances thus obtained partially enter the root system of the main plant, and also serve as a nutritional composition for the fungus itself.
An interesting fact is that mycorrhiza can develop without the root system of a higher plant. But in this case, the fruiting bodies of this fungus do not form. This is exactly what happens during the home cultivation of ceps and subspecies close to it (brown boletus, cap boletus). That is why the mushrooms of this group are not artificially cultivated. Although there are no rules without exception. For example, in France and Germany it is very common to grow black truffle, which grows on the roots of beech and oak seedlings.
What do mushrooms eat?
It should be noted that mushrooms feed on prepared organic substances. But still, the main role is played by compounds having a carbon base. Carbon is the main source of energy for mushrooms. In the nutrition of edible mushrooms, the presence of nitrogenous substances is important - they stimulate growth. Because of this consumption of inorganic substances, it is often said that mushrooms eat autotrophically. As a rule, these are ammonium nitrates and derivatives of ammonium salts. In addition to carbon and nitrogen compositions, fungi also use many mineral elements - calcium, magnesium, phosphorus. And as trace elements, mushrooms need substances such as copper, zinc and manganese.
But still, if you are asked about how mushrooms eat, the short answer should be this: heterotrophically. This means that they cannot independently process inorganic minerals into organic matter. Therefore, everything necessary is absorbed in the form of “aqueous solutions”.
Knowledge of how mushrooms eat is very important in the artificial cultivation of edible representatives of this kingdom. Indeed, the creation of an enabling environment for their growth is the key to successful industrial production.
Animals and Mushrooms
Based on the above facts, it becomes clear that mushrooms are quite serious for humans from the point of view of food raw materials. But what about the fauna? What value is the mushroom world for them? What animals eat mushrooms? These questions can be answered by studying in detail the habits of the most common forest inhabitants. It should be noted right away that many forest animals, for example, moose, squirrels, bears, deer, are quite willing to eat them.
Forest hunters are recognized as great hunters to enjoy mushrooms. True, they rarely stockpile, preferring to eat all the most delicious directly on earth. Curious is the fact that for some reason forest vole mice eat a mushroom leg, leaving the hat intact. And if we see a large number of cap boletus or boletus cap lying on the ground, this is a sure sign that in this place there was a recently mouse feast.
Some representatives of birds also love mushrooms. They eat them exclusively in the summer-autumn period, pecking a treat directly on the ground. In addiction to mushrooms, scientists have noticed jays, black grouse and some varieties of capercaillie. And it is precisely the birds that contribute to the rapid distribution of forest gifts, transferring fungal spores (excrete them along with feces) to regions quite remote from the current habitat. This is also possible because spores, passing through the digestive system of birds, receive stimulation to germinate.
Squirrel stocks
If we talk about squirrels, then in the summer they find and eat mushrooms right on the ground. In winter, the squirrel eats supplies previously harvested. The animal begins to fill the pantry with mushrooms for the winter in late summer. Moreover, an interesting nuance is the fact that before storage the mushrooms are dried in the sun to avoid subsequent decay. As a rule, squirrels hang them on trees so that they do not become easy prey for other hunters to feast on this product. Most often she uses knots of conifers. Much less often, the protein simply lays its prey on comfortable stumps and simply smooth surfaces.
If in September, walking in the forest, you look closely at some firs or pines, then you can very often notice traces of the harvesting activity of these furry animals. Well, the volume of harvesting for the winter can be judged by the statistics provided by scientists. On average, a squirrel places up to 200 units of various mushrooms in one nest. Quite an impressive figure, especially when you consider that ceps occupy a large segment in these supplies. In this case, the total weight of dried products can reach 600 grams. This is the equivalent of almost 6 kg of the same mushrooms in raw form.
Amanita - poison or benefit?
And who else eats mushrooms in the forest? If we talk about large forest inhabitants, then first of all it is worth mentioning the moose. These animals really love mushrooms, and of different species. With regard to moose, the fact that they willingly eat fly agaric, which for many representatives of the fauna are poisonous, is very interesting. Scientists are very interested in studying this issue, but today they certainly cannot explain the nature of the phenomenon. Many of them are inclined to think that it is in this way that moose somehow “disinfect” their body. It is also believed that some trace elements of the fly agaric contribute to the digestion of the moose.
In this regard, I want to note that not only animals, but also people sometimes use fly agarics. But, unlike animals, people eat fly agaric for medical purposes only. In rural areas, they still make various alcohol tinctures based on this particular mushroom. It is claimed that their use contributes to the treatment of rheumatism.
In fact, mushrooms contain many useful, both for humans and animals, trace elements. And precisely for the purpose of medical prevention, and not just from hunger, many animals eat them.