Fungi vary greatly in size and shape. They can consist of one cell or a chain of cells several miles long. Fungi that we can see with the naked eye, such as mushrooms,  are made up of these long, interwoven chains.

Fungi, like mushrooms, are not plants. They do not use sunlight to make their own food the way that plants do.  Fungi absorb nutrients from the living or dead plants and animals that they grow on. By breaking down this dead organic material, they continue the cycle of nutrients through the food chain.

Fungi include the mold that produces penicillin, the yeast used to make bread rise and the trichopyton that causes athletes foot. You can even eat some kinds of mushrooms. But BEWARE, some mushrooms are very poisonous and deadly.