Homeschooling

Days on which there is nothing to write, I will post compositions and other things I have written. I wote this to use in a science fair project, which won first place. There are other things about fungus I have written, check back later to read them.

When one thinks of fungi, one’s first impression is probably bad. One may think of mildewy shower curtain, moldy food, or a rotting house. But not all fungi are bad. For example: fungi play an important part in decomposing, medicine, and food. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at fungi.

Humans have put many fungi to work for us; others naturally are helpful. Yeasts, which when feeding give off carbon dioxide and ethanol, are put in dough or juice and these gases are trapped, resulting in fermentation. Further, farmers spray parasite spores on fields to exterminate insects. We utilize mould to ferment soy sauce, give flavor to cheese, and save lives by exercising moulds ability to eat harmful bacteria such as typhoid. Moreover, without symbiotic fungi, which reach out with their hyphae to find nutrients to bring a plant friend, there could not be forests of trees, or some plants. Above all, without fungi to decompose organic matter, we would be buried in carcasses!

But there’s also a bad side to fungus. Mushrooms appear in otherwise perfect lawns. It rots our crops, food and houses. Also, there’s natural yeast in us all, and if this gets too plentiful it causes a candida infection. Poisonous toadstools cause a number of deaths each year. Parasites can be an annoyance, others kill the host altogether; Dutch elm disease destroys forests of elm trees all over the world!

In conclusion, fungus is essential in many different ways. It also can be a nuisance. But maybe the next time you see fungi on your lunch, you will give a thought to its importance before throwing it away.