Click the Mycokids logo to return to the first page
- Home
-
The Society
- The Society
- Membership
- Awards and Grants
- Council & Committees
- Committee meetings
- Administration
- Annual Report
- Governance
- History
- Publications
- News
-
Obituaries
- Obituaries
- Dave Shorten - formerly Cotswold Fungus Group
- Dr Geoff Robson 1962 - 2018
- C.V. Subramanian
- John Webster
- Geoff Hadley
- Dr Juliet C. Frankland
- Royall T Moore
- John Cairney
- Justin Smith
- Lorna Castleton
- Eileen Chattaway
- Nick Legon
- Dr Stan Hughes - Obituary
- The Passing of Richard Shotbolt
- The Passing of Prof Nick Read
- Prof John Frederick Peberdy 8th Nov 1937– 4th May 2020
- The Passing of Prof Tony Trinci
- Contact Us
-
Fungal Biology Research
- Fungal Biology Research
- Meetings
- Careers
- Publications and News
-
Research Map
- Research Map
- The University of Manchester
- Aberstywyth University
- Imperial College London
- Institute of Food Research
- University of Aberdeen
- The James Hutton Institute
- University of Nottingham
- University of Birmingham
- University of Leicester
- Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh
- University of Reading
- University of Edinburgh
- Plantworks Ltd
- Forest Research
- University of Sheffield
- Swansea University
- University of Worcester
- The Sainsbury Laboratory
- St. Andrews University
- University of Kent
- Staffordshire University
- NIH/NLM/NCBI
- The James Hutton Institute
- Newcastle University
- Royal Holloway, University of London
- University of Exeter
- University of Liverpool
- King's College London
- University of Oxford
- University of York
- University of Bristol
- Cardiff University
- Bangor University
- Edinburgh Napier University
- Cranfield University
- NIAB East Malling Research (EMR)
- University of Hertfordshire
- Bionema Ltd.
- Durham University
- Forest Research
- University of Glasgow
- University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust
- Meeting Abstracts
- Education and Outreach
-
Field Mycology
- Field Mycology
- Conservation
- BMS Autumn Open Meeting
-
Recording Network
- Recording Network
-
Groups
- Groups
- Buckinghamshire
- S Cambridge
- Cornwall Fungus Recording Group
- Clyde and Argyll
- Cotswold
- Devon
- Dorset
- Forest of Dean
- Glamorgan
- Gwent
- Grampian
- Hampshire
- Herefordshire
- Herts & Beds
- Huntingdon
- Lincolnshire
- Leicester
- London
- North-Eastern Fungus Study Group
- Northern Ireland
- NW Fungus Group
- Nottinghamshire Fungi Group
- Oxfordshire
- Pembrokeshire
- Salisbury
- SE Scotland
- Shropshire
- N Somerset & Bristol
- Sorby Fungus Group
- Staffordshire
- Surrey
- Tayside and Fife Fungal Group
- Thames Valley
- Warwickshire
- West Weald
- Worcestershire Fungus Group
- Mid Yorkshire
- Recording Network Bulletins
- Field Meetings
- Fungal Records
- News
- Specimens needed
- Have you seen this fungus?
- Microscopy
- FM publication
- English Names
- Mycological Consultants
- Library and Information
- What are we
- What are we made of
- How are fruit bodies made
- How big are fungi?
- How old are fungi?
- Where can you find fungi?
- What do fungi do?
- Fungi break down wood
- Some fungi help plants to grow

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!

Photograph © MiSAC