Fungi belong to their own kingdom, separate from both plants and animals, and feed by absorbing nutrients.

The longer version

Fungi were once grouped with plants because both stay in one place and often grow in soil. Modern classification separates them, since their cells store energy differently, their walls are built from chitin, and they lack the chlorophyll that lets plants make their own food from light.

Feeding works by secretion rather than swallowing. Threads release enzymes into whatever they are growing through, breaking complex material into small molecules that pass back through the cell wall. This external digestion makes fungi important recyclers, returning carbon and minerals from dead wood, leaves, and animals to the wider soil community.

Where this entry sits

Plants and Trees gathers ordinary and surprising details about how green things live, from the tallest forest giants down to the moss on a garden wall. Expect notes on flowers, seeds, roots, leaves, fungi, and the quiet tricks plants use to spread and survive. The full list sits on the Plants and Trees page, where every entry is listed in order.