Mushroom

This model demonstrates the structure of fungi. Mushrooms (lat. Fungi or Mycota) are the kingdom of living nature, uniting eukaryotic organisms, combining some of the characteristics of both plants and animals. Mushrooms are studied by the science of mycology, which is considered a branch of botany, since earlier mushrooms were attributed to the plant kingdom. Fungi are present in all ecological niches: in water and on land, in soil and on all kinds of other substrates. As decomposers, they play an important role in the ecology of the entire biosphere, decomposing all kinds of organic materials and contributing to the formation of fertile soils. The role of fungi as participants in mutually beneficial symbiotic (mutualistic) communities is great. Known symbiotic relationships of fungi with higher plants (mycorrhiza), with algae and cyanobacteria (lichens), with insects.