Editing 1749: Mushrooms
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| β | [[Cueball]] is looking at a {{w|mushroom}}, contemplating how weird they are, when [[Megan]] adds another layer to their weirdness by supplying the trivia that {{w|evolutionary|evolutionarily}}, mushrooms (which are basidiomycete {{w|fungi}}) are closer to the {{w|animal|animal kingdom}} than to {{w|plants}} on the {{w|Tree of life (biology)|tree of life}}. (Note that, technically, mushrooms themselves are only the fruiting bodies of the fungi. A mushroom is only part of a fungus, in the same way an apple is only part of a tree. The majority of the fungus grows beneath the soil, in a part of the fungus called the | + | [[Cueball]] is looking at a {{w|mushroom}}, contemplating how weird they are, when [[Megan]] adds another layer to their weirdness by supplying the trivia that {{w|evolutionary|evolutionarily}}, mushrooms (which are basidiomycete {{w|fungi}}) are closer to the {{w|animal|animal kingdom}} than to {{w|plants}} on the {{w|Tree of life (biology)|tree of life}}. (Note that, technically, mushrooms themselves are only the fruiting bodies of the fungi. A mushroom is only part of a fungus, in the same way an apple is only part of a tree. The majority of the fungus grows beneath the soil, in a part of the fungus called the mycelium, which is composed of root-like structures called hyphae.) |
| β | Both animals and fungi are part of the {{w|opisthokont}} group of eukaryotic organisms, while plants are in the {{w|archaeplastida}} group of eukaryotic organisms with the green and red {{w|algae}}. This surprises Cueball, as he, like many people, is likely to think of mushrooms as plants, as they are "grown" just like other crops. Even scientists, before the 1960s, considered fungi to be 'plants'; it took DNA-based studies in the 1990s and 2000s to 'seal the deal' and place the fungi with the animals, and not the plants. But fungi do not perform {{w|photosynthesis}}, and therefore do not need sunlight to grow. Instead, they get their energy from other living matter, either live (parasitic mushrooms) or dead (e.g. manure; saprobic mushrooms). Edible mushrooms like {{w|Agaricus bisporus}} (or white mushroom) are saprobes, [http://www.gardenguides.com/129125-growing-mushrooms-cave.html farmed] in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmhKqaobi3Q caves]. The body plans of fungi are also utterly unlike those of plants. There are a few plants that don't do photosynthesis, such as the parasitic flowering plant {{w|Monotropa uniflora}}. But these plants otherwise look like, and are built like, plants, and don't look or grow at all like fungi. Ironically, many plants, both photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic, depend on root-associated | + | Both animals and fungi are part of the {{w|opisthokont}} group of eukaryotic organisms, while plants are in the {{w|archaeplastida}} group of eukaryotic organisms with the green and red {{w|algae}}. This surprises Cueball, as he, like many people, is likely to think of mushrooms as plants, as they are "grown" just like other crops. Even scientists, before the 1960s, considered fungi to be 'plants'; it took DNA-based studies in the 1990s and 2000s to 'seal the deal' and place the fungi with the animals, and not the plants. But fungi do not perform {{w|photosynthesis}}, and therefore do not need sunlight to grow. Instead, they get their energy from other living matter, either live (parasitic mushrooms) or dead (e.g. manure; saprobic mushrooms). Edible mushrooms like {{w|Agaricus bisporus}} (or white mushroom) are saprobes, [http://www.gardenguides.com/129125-growing-mushrooms-cave.html farmed] in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmhKqaobi3Q caves]. The body plans of fungi are also utterly unlike those of plants. There are a few plants that don't do photosynthesis, such as the parasitic flowering plant {{w|Monotropa uniflora}}. But these plants otherwise look like, and are built like, plants, and don't look or grow at all like fungi. Ironically, many plants, both photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic, depend on root-associated (mycorrhizal) fungi for their survival and growth. |
Megan then walks away, and Cueball, after pondering the mushroom a while further, gets up and walks away too. But as soon as Cueball has his back turned the mushroom growls after him. Cueball spins around to look back at the now again silent mushroom. This is a bit of absurdist humor; while mushrooms are ''technically'' more animal-like than plant-like, they are still so far removed from animals they wouldn't have any of the body parts needed to growl.{{Citation needed}} For that matter, most animals lack the parts needed to growl. Cueball's shock and astonishment is quite justified, and maybe it was just his imagination running wild after Megan's trivia. The reader is left to wonder what Cueball's next move will be - especially, those readers who have ever felt, or indulged, the urge to stomp mushrooms. | Megan then walks away, and Cueball, after pondering the mushroom a while further, gets up and walks away too. But as soon as Cueball has his back turned the mushroom growls after him. Cueball spins around to look back at the now again silent mushroom. This is a bit of absurdist humor; while mushrooms are ''technically'' more animal-like than plant-like, they are still so far removed from animals they wouldn't have any of the body parts needed to growl.{{Citation needed}} For that matter, most animals lack the parts needed to growl. Cueball's shock and astonishment is quite justified, and maybe it was just his imagination running wild after Megan's trivia. The reader is left to wonder what Cueball's next move will be - especially, those readers who have ever felt, or indulged, the urge to stomp mushrooms. | ||
