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The Life Cycle of Mushrooms
Mushrooms – Neither Animals Nor Plants
Mushrooms are neither classified as animals (fauna) nor plants (flora). They form their own category under the name “Funga.”
While mushrooms are often considered plants, recent biological research suggests they are actually more closely related to animals.
One key characteristic that clearly differentiates mushrooms from plants is their inability to perform photosynthesis. Like animals, mushrooms feed on organic substances and consume oxygen during their growth. Some mushrooms, like the oyster mushroom, even have the ability to “digest” living organisms. The mycelium of this mushroom, when growing through old wood, can decompose nematodes that are present in it.
As the primary decomposers and recyclers of organic matter, mushrooms are essential for maintaining a healthy environment.
While mushrooms are often considered plants, recent biological research suggests they are actually more closely related to animals.
One key characteristic that clearly differentiates mushrooms from plants is their inability to perform photosynthesis. Like animals, mushrooms feed on organic substances and consume oxygen during their growth. Some mushrooms, like the oyster mushroom, even have the ability to “digest” living organisms. The mycelium of this mushroom, when growing through old wood, can decompose nematodes that are present in it.
As the primary decomposers and recyclers of organic matter, mushrooms are essential for maintaining a healthy environment.
A World of Its Own
Worldwide, approximately 140,000 species of mushrooms are known. These include not only the easily recognizable basidiomycetes (basidiomycetes) but also mushroom species that do not form a fruiting body (such as molds or athlete’s foot) and unicellular mushroom species (like yeast fungi). Scientists estimate that only about a quarter of the mushroom species on Earth have been described.
The following focuses solely on basidiomycetes (often referred to as larger mushrooms).
There are about 30,000 species of basidiomycetes worldwide. In Austria, approximately 3,500 species have been discovered, of which about 150 are toxic. To date, around 60 different mushrooms can be cultivated.
The life cycle of mushrooms
In the following, we will give you an overview of how mushrooms grow and describe the individual phases in more detail.
- Spore germination (Germination): A mushroom fruiting body can release up to a billion spores. These spores land near the mushroom or are carried away by wind or water. After germination, the spores form long threads, called “hyphae”.
- Merging of the spore strands (Plasmogamie): When hyphae from two different-sexed spores meet, they fuse together, forming a network called mycelium. This network spreads in fine threads throughout the substrate on which the mushroom grows.
- Primordium: The formation of the primordium (the “fruiting” of the mushroom) is triggered by various factors, depending on the mushroom species. These factors can include: when the mycelium has absorbed all available nutrients in the surrounding area, a rapid temperature change, or damage to the mycelium.
- Pinhead: In this growth phase, the mushroom forms tiny fruiting bodies that resemble pinheads.
- Pilzkörper mit geschlossenem Hut: The mushroom continues to grow, but the cap remains closed.
- Fertiger Pilzkörper mit offenem Hut: The mushroom’s growth is complete. With the completion of this phase, spore release occurs.
- Abgabe von Sporen (Sporulation): The mushroom releases spores, and the process begins again from the beginning.
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