Posted
on August 15, 2014
Today's
birthday—born in 1794—became a mycologist.
Swedish
scientist Elias Fries learned all about flowering plants from his
father, and after going to university, he became a professor of
botany, which is the study of plants.
But
his knowledge of plants isn't what Fries is known for.
Fries
became known for his classification system for mushrooms and other
fungi. He studied spore color and the structures of fungal fruiting
bodies, which could be smooth, folded, or covered with tubes or
“teeth.”
Back
when Fries was arranging his mushroom taxonomies, they were
classified as a kind of plant. After all, mushrooms often grow out of
soil, generally stay put in one place, and have rigid cell walls.
But
now mushrooms and other fungi have their own kingdom, alongside the
animal and plant kingdoms (and other kingdoms).
A mycologist is a
scientist who specializes in fungi.
Plants
have the ability to make food. Generally, plants use water and
minerals absorbed from the soil, through their roots, and carbon
dioxide absorbed from the air, through tiny pores in their leaves,
and the energy of sunlight – and from these inorganic materials
plus energy, they make sugars and starches!
This
process is called photosynthesis (photo means “light,” and
synthesis means “to make”).
Mushrooms,
yeast, and molds are all incapable of making their own food. Instead,
they break down organic matter; many fungi are an important part of
the decomposition of dead organisms. |
| Lichen-encrusted rocks |
(By
the way, Fries also studied and classified various lichens, which are
fungi that have algae cells that can make food out of sunlight. In
other words, lichens are pretty much part-fungi, part-plant.)
 |
| Would it surprise you to learn that some fungi are called "shelf fungi"? |
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