Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2022, issue 95, Funky Fungi! i Eco Kids Planet Magazine

Have you noticed how mushrooms seem to pop up overnight? Ever wondered why they’re sometimes in a bit of, ahem, a mess? It’s me! I do try to pick them neatly with my tiny paws. But – oh – I find it impossible not to nibble those juicy caps… You see, we red squirrels LOVE munching mushrooms – all mushrooms – even poisonous ones. Only 1% of fungi are properly deadly to humans but squirrels can even eat those! That’s how cleverly we’ve adapted to our environment, playing our special part in the fungal ecosystem that has evolved over millennia! Many mushroom varieties appear after it’s rained. They nest on the forest floor like glistening jewels – a fantastic fungi feast! I pick them and lay them out to dry…

This woodland-loving lichen has suffered at the hands of humans – but sometimes it needs human hands to move it to safety! Working as a team So, what are lichens? Definitely not plants, and not just fungi either. Lichens are actually fungi that live with algae or bacteria (or both). Tree lungwort lichen is a little community of all three. While the fungi provide shelter, the algae and bacteria supply the food – they can photosynthesise, using energy from sunlight to create sugars. So, each member of the lichen team benefits from this unusual way of life! Clean homes Lichens live on the surfaces of other things, such as trees, soil, rocks, buildings and even gravestones! They’re found in all sorts of habitats, from tropical rainforests to chilly mountain peaks. A…

FUNGUS AMONG US Fungi are what we call more than one species of fungus. We know of over 100,000 species – but there may be 3.8 million species out there. Out where? Well, everywhere. They’re all around us and in pretty much everything, although many are too small to see. But what exactly are they? PLANT, ANIMAL OR SOMETHING ELSE? The fungi most of us know best are those with mushrooms. When you see them growing in woods, you may think they’re a kind of plant. So did scientists in the past – but not any more. After all, fungi have no leaves or roots. Nor do they form flowers or seeds – or need sunlight for energy. So now fungi have their very own kingdom. But they’re closer to…

FUNGAL CROSSWORD Down: 1. Ants that farm fungi 2. The first true antibiotic (medicine that kills bacteria) 4. A plastic-eating, oil-spill-cleaning, cigarette-butt-breaking mushroom 6. A soft, green or grey growth that develops on old food Across: 3. The underground part of a mushroom 5. Mushroom leather 7. People who study fungi 8. A fungus that helps bread dough rise 9. An edible underground fungus found with the aid of trained dogs or pigs 10. A meat alternative made from a fungus TRUE OR FALSE? 1 Fungi are plants. 2 Fungi can survive in space and thrive in radiation. 3 A lichen has no roots. 4 It takes only two months to grow a mycelium brick. 5 Trees can alert each other through the underground network. 6 Fungi receive nutrients from…

Charlie: Humans began farming about 12,000 years ago, but some ants started farming more than 50 million years earlier! I’ve come to a rainforest in Brazil, South America, to find ants that farm fungi. Here’s a line of ants. They’re all holding little umbrellas overhead – well, it is a rainforest. Hey, guys, are you expecting a storm? Ant: These aren’t umbrellas – they’re leaves! We’re carrying them home. Charlie: Taking them back to eat, eh? Ant: No, we’re taking them back… to poo on! Charlie: Woah! Do you ants use leaves like loo paper, then? Ant: Of course not, we’re fungi farmers. Charlie: Then you’re leafcutter ants! Exactly who I’m looking for. What kind of fungi crops do you grow? Ant: Not a type you’d know. They don’t grow…

RHONA REPORTS! N0. 34 And don’t forget about me – Rusty! N-ICE! In July, we had a scorching heatwave in the UK – and, as I write this, we’re having another. My annoying little brother Rusty had better not eat all our ice lollies in one morning again! July’s heat caused us humans plenty of problems, but I was also thinking about how it affected animals. So, it was good to hear about our zoos giving tasty ice treats to their animals to keep them cool. Apes and monkeys at London Zoo got healthy ice pops made from frozen sugar-free iced tea, filled with nuts and seeds! The picture shows Mjukuu, a western lowland gorilla, about to enjoy a big one. The zoo says its primates, including gorillas and squirrel…

5 THERE WAS A GIANT PREHISTORIC FUNGUS! A huge fungus called prototaxites (say “pro-toe-tax-eye-ts”) lived over 350 million years ago. Back then, animals and plants on land were pretty small, but this fungus grew over seven metres tall, with a treelike trunk! Imagine wandering around that weird world and seeing lots of them scattered about. They may have looked like telephone poles! Fun Fact Fungi may have first appeared on Earth one billion years ago! 4 PEOPLE BELIEVED IN FAIRY RINGS! Sometimes, mushrooms grow in a natural circle. It happens when one fungus sends out a network of underground threads that form a circular shape. Mushroom caps then grow up out at the edge of the circle. But folklore says they’re fairy rings, created by fairies dancing in a circle! The…