Fungus Among Us Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mycologists

Mycologists are botanists that specialize in the field of mycology, the study of fungi and their effects.

Zoologists study living animals.

Fungologists is a field of study I made up.

Oncologists study and treat cancer.

Answer: The fruiting body

The fruiting body is most often the part we see above ground and contains the spores for reproduction. Mushrooms are not photosynthetic and their "roots" are underground like most other vegetation. It is most certainly not the whole thing, as most of it is underground.

Answer: Cap, Stipe, Gills

The gills hold the spores of the fungus and are located underneath the cap. The stipe is the structure that holds the cap and gills off the ground.

Answer: Basidiomycota

All of these are phyla of Fungi. Ascomycota and basidiomycota make up the two largest groups of fungi. Basidiomycota includes puffballs, mushrooms jelly fungi, and many more!

Answer: Apple Scab

All of these are fungal diseases that affect trees.

Apple scab produces black spots on the fruit, leaves, and other structures of the tree that can appear to look like scabs. It doesn't kill the host, but does ruin the fruit and can leave the trees susceptible to other infections.

Answer: Ringworm

Ringworm forms a dark colored ring on the skin of humans and can be quite itchy and bothersome. It can be treated by topical anti-fungal medications quite easily.

Roundworms are a type of parasite, not a fungal infection. The most common type is Ascariasis, which can be obtained from contaminated soil (and therefore the vegetables growing in them). Always wash your fruits and veggies!

Fungal Ring is a disease I made up.

Bullseye ring is not an infection, but a common symptom that shows up when you are bitten by a tick. It may be an indicator that it carried Lyme disease.

Answer: Mycelium

Mycelium composes most of the fungi. It acts to anchor the fungi, absorb nutrients, and digest decaying matter.

Rhizoids are accessory structure of plants that act to anchor them.

Algae are not a fungus at all, but rather a plant.

There is no trunk of a fungi. The "trunk" structure of a mushroom is called the stipe.

Answer: Chitin

Chitin is a very strong structural component derived from glucose. It is also found in the shells of crustaceans!

Cellulose is the main component of a plant's cell wall.

Air Pockets don't really play a role in cell walls of organisms.

Keratin has a similar function to Chitin but is found in human hair and skin cells among other places, not in the cell wall of a fungus.

Answer: Multinucleate cells with septa

Fungi cells are multinucleate cells divided into sections by septa, which have a central hole to allow information and nutrients to pass between cells more easily. They are also coenocytic which means they can reproduce and divide without the cytokinesis step of mitosis, so more material gets added into the same cell, giving a fungus its multinucleate nature.

Answer: Truffles

Truffles are often considered a delicacy and fetch top dollar in stores and markets. Many truffle hunters have trained pigs to sniff out truffles!

Ivory Funnel is a deadly mushroom found in Europe and North America.

Jelly Fungus are edible but not commonly used due to their bland taste.

Shelf Fungus are commonly seen on trees and form a shelf. Some are edible but most are not.