Difference Between Plants and Fungi
Given the large number and variety of species that make up living beings, the need arose to classify them according to their vital structure and group them with their peers in order to differentiate them from other living organisms. From there, the idea of taxonomy arises, which is the science derived from biology that is responsible for classifying living beings into different kingdoms, families, genera, classes, order and species.
Consequently, there are, among others, the plant kingdom that is made up of all the variety of plants that exist on the planet and also, the fungi kingdom that contains all the species of fungi known to man.
In view of the above, the need arises to establish the differences between plants and fungi , since, because they share certain habitats, it is usually believed that they belong to the same species or family. However, plants and fungi are living organisms that are very different from each other, so in this article we will define them in order to differentiate their own characteristics.
Definition of Plants
Plants are living organisms belonging to the plant kingdom and are capable of producing their own food , that is, they have autotrophic nutrition from a process called photosynthesis. This process allows the capture of solar energy and converts it into carbon dioxide through a substance called chlorophyll and the water they absorb transforms it into sugars and essential foods for their development.
Plants are made up of four basic parts that can be very different from one species to another: the root, which fixes the plant to the ground and absorbs water and nutrients, the stem, which supports the plant, the leaf, which is the structure where the process of photosynthesis is carried out and the flower which is the reproductive organ where the fruit and the seed are produced. In the same order of ideas, there are innumerable species of plants classified according to their specific characteristics.
Definition of Mushrooms
Fungi are living organisms belonging to the fungi kingdom . These are devoid of chlorophyll, so they cannot perform photosynthesis and are not capable of producing their own food, hence their nutrition is heterotrophic .
Next, the fungi live at the expense of another living organism or on decomposing organic matter. They have a stem like plants (called thallus) through which they absorb essential nutrients for their growth and development. They reproduce asexually through spores or sexually through gametes. Also, most fungi live on land. For this reason, for a long time fungi were classified within the plant kingdom, but once their particular characteristics were known, they were assigned a kingdom to group them.
There are many species of fungi, the vast majority have a decomposing quality , that is, they transform organic matter into simpler substances that can be assimilated by other living beings.
Once the definitions of the terms that concern us have been presented, we present the following descriptive table in order to point out the most outstanding differences between plants and fungi:
Differences between plants and fungi
| Floors | Mushrooms |
| They have chlorophyll, so they carry out photosynthesis. | They do not have chlorophyll, so they are not capable of photosynthesis. |
| They are autotrophs (make their own food). | They are heterotrophs (get their food from other living things). |
| They produce fruit. | They do not produce fruit. |
