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6.10: Fungi Classification

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    What's growing on these oranges?

    Mold, of course! Did you know that mold is a type of fungus? There are many different types of fungi besides molds, however, including mushrooms. Mold and mushrooms are obviously different. So how are these fungi classified?

    Fungi Classification

    Scientists used to think that fungi were members of the plant kingdom. They thought this because fungi had several similarities to plants. For example:

    • Fungi and plants have similar structures.
    • Plants and fungi live in the same kinds of habitats, such as growing in soil.
    • Plants and fungi cells both have a cell wall, which animals do not have.

    How Fungi and Plants Differ

    However, there are a number of characteristics that make fungi different from plants:

    1. Fungi cannot make their own food like plants can, since they do not have chloroplasts and cannot carry out photosynthesis. Fungi are more like animals because they are heterotrophs, as opposed to autotrophs, like plants, that make their own food. Fungi have to obtain their food, nutrients and glucose, from outside sources.
    2. The cell walls in many species of fungi contain chitin. Chitin is tough carbohydrate found in the shells of animals such as beetles and lobsters. The cell wall of a plant is made of cellulose, not chitin.
    3. Unlike many plants, most fungi do not have structures, such as xylem and phloem, that transfer water and nutrients.

    The Types of Fungi

    The Kingdom Fungi can be broken down into several phyla. Each phyla has some unique traits. And even within the same phyla there are many differences among the fungi. Various types of fungi are pictured below (Table below). Notice how different each of these organisms are from one another.

    Type of Fungi Examples
    Molds

    Penicillium

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    Mushrooms

    Morels, shiitake, cremini, oyster

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    Single-celled yeasts

    Baker's yeast

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    Summary

    • Fungi are no longer classified as plants.
    • Although fungi have cell walls like plants, the cell walls are made of chitin instead of cellulose.
    • Types of fungi include molds, yeasts, and mushrooms.

    Explore More

    Use the resources below to answer the questions that follow.

    Explore More I

    1. How many of the existing fungi do scientist feel they have identified?
    2. What are three general characteristics of Chrytid fungi?
    3. Give three examples of Basidiomycetes.
    4. What is the defining characteristic of Ascomycetes?
    5. How are all fungi the same? How do they differ?

    Explore More II

    1. In what kind of habitats do you find Ascomycete fungi?
    2. How large is their fruiting body?
    3. Do you think you can find Ascomycerte in marine environments? Why or why not?
    4. What characteristics do scientists use to distinguish between different species of fungi?

    Review

    1. What do plants and fungi have in common?
    2. What are the significant differences between plants and fungi?
    3. How are fungi more like animals than plants?

    This page titled 6.10: Fungi Classification is shared under a CC BY-NC license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by CK-12 Foundation via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.