• unicellular or multicellular
• terrestrial & aquatic
• 1 - 1.5 million species
• eukaryotic
• heterotrophic - absorb nutrients after "breaking down" material using digestive enzymes that are specific to each food source
• 3 niches - decomposers, parasites or associated with a plant
• multicellular forms have characteristic structures
  • hypha - single fungal filament
    • contains cell walls of chitin (modified cellulose) - common to arthropod exoskeletons, but not plants
  • mycelium - made up of branching hyphae
  • rhizoids - hyphae that anchor the fungus
  • fruiting bodies - the visible structures for reproduction by spores made of tightly packed specialised hyphae
• asexual & sexual reproduction - budding, spores, "fruiting bodies" of hyphae
• many fungi are economically useful bread, wine, beer, cheeses, yogurt, antibiotics
• penicillium - used to make antibiotic - penicillin
• cause various diseases in wide variety of organisms including man

Common types

• yeasts
  • unicellular
• moulds
• mushrooms & toadstools
• smuts & rusts

• sporangia

• "pin moulds" (including bread mould)
• spores - asexual
• conjugation - sexual

• asci

• "cup fungi" ( including Penicillium & Aspergillus) & morels
• also include lichen & yeasts
• spores not covered by sporangia
• freshwater Ascomycetes
• "spore shooters"

Morels 

Pezizales

• basidia

• mushrooms, toadstools & puffballs
• "spore droppers"