Some fungi help plants to grow

Some fungi help trees and other plants to grow. Because the fine threads that make fungal mycelium can spread over long distances, fungi can capture water and nutrients from far away and bring them back along the fine threads and close to plant roots. The roots take up the water and nutrients that the fungi offer and in return the trees and other plants give the fungi sugars that they made during photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is the process where plants can make food using carbon dioxide and energy from sunlight.

Photosynthesis takes place in the green leaves of plants.

Plants take in the carbon dioxide that we breathe out. They use energy from the sun to capture the carbon from carbon dioxide and use it to make sugars for food. During the process oxygen is produced and released into the air.

Some of the sugars made during photosynthesis are shared with the fungi that help to get water and nutrients to the plant roots!

Photo by ama

This is the Fly Agaric. It's latin name is Amanita muscaria. The mycelium of the Fly Agaric helps pine and birch trees to grow. You can't see the mycelium in this picture because it is hidden from view, but you can see the fruit body which has a red cap with white spots!

This fungus fruit body is poisonous.

Hi I'm Fly Agaric

Look at my beautiful fruit body!

My mycelium helps pine and birch trees to grow!