Fungi are eukaryotic organisms among which are molds, yeasts, and mushrooms. They belong to a different kingdom than plants, animals, and protists. They are heterotrophic beings and have chitin cell walls. Plants are autotrophic living beings, they generate their food through photosynthesis, they cannot move and their cell walls are mainly composed of cellulose.
Mushrooms
They are organisms that belong to the Fungi kingdom, in which molds, yeasts, and mushrooms are found. They differ from plants in that they are heterotrophic and from animals because they have cell walls composed of chitin instead of cellulose. They feed by absorption like plants but do not photosynthesize.
Fungi are found in diverse habitats, they can inhabit decaying matter or even coal. They can live in the soil, as symbionts of plants, animals, and other fungi.
When fruiting they produce striking sporocarps (Like mushrooms).
Mushrooms perform the external digestion of their food, secrete enzymes, and then absorb the molecules resulting from their digestion. They take in organic nutrients, which is why they are considered the primary decomposers of dead plant and animal matter in many ecosystems. For this reason, they play an important biological role in biogeochemical cycles.
Plants
Plants are considered to be photosynthetic living beings, which have no locomotive capacity and whose cell walls are composed of cellulose. They are eukaryotic beings and are classified in the kingdom Plantae, which includes terrestrial plants and algae.
Plants obtain energy from sunlight through chlorophyll and use it to carry out photosynthesis. Through this process, they convert inorganic substances into complex organic matter.
Plants participated for millions of years in the composition of the gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and are the primary source of food for heterotrophic organisms. For this reason, they are considered as the producing beings of an ecosystem.
Difference between the kingdom of Plants and that of Fungi
- Fungi are grouped in the fungi kingdom.
- Plants are grouped in the kingdom Plantae.
- Fungi are single-celled organisms that live and grow on organic matter.
- Plants are multicellular organisms.
- Gongs are decomposing living things.
- Plants are producing living beings.
- Fungi feed on organic matter. They have the ability to break it down and take in the nutrients they need. They convert organic matter into inorganic.
- Plants feed on inorganic matter and convert it into organic matter.
