What is the Difference between the Plant Kingdom and the Fungus Kingdom? Plants and fungi play a very important role in the survival of humans and other organisms.
All living beings are divided into different kingdoms: each with its characteristics.
- Fungi
- Plantae
- Monera
- Protista
- Animalia
Difference between Plant Kingdom and Fungus Kingdom
Fungi Kingdom
Although originally the fungi were grouped in the kingdom of the plants, Plantae, later they were classified in a kingdom especially for them; due to their remarkable differences with plants.
At the moment the living beings are divided not into the five traditional kingdoms that we mentioned previously; but into six: Archaea, Bacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
These six kingdoms today are present in many Botany books; especially in the United States.
The Archaea kingdom was previously included in that of bacteria. Humans belong to the kingdom of Animalia.
Fungi are a group of unicellular multinucleated organisms that live and grow in the decomposed matter.
They are also members of the eukaryotic cell domain. They were separated from the kingdom of plants when the evidence showed that they looked more like the organisms of the kingdom of Animalia than those of the Plantae kingdom, but they were neither.
Robert Whittaker is credited with the proposal to create an independent kingdom for these organisms.
Fungi include microorganisms such as yeast. The term “Fungi” is a word adopted from Latin, which literally means “fungus”.
This word in turn derives from the Greek word “Sphongos”, which means “sponge”.
Fungi can be reproduced by different sexual and asexual methods. Depending on their reproductive structures, they have eight divisions:
- Chytridiomycota
- Zygomycota
- Glomeromycota
- Microsporidia
- Ascomycota
- Basidiomycota
- Blastocladiomycota
Both fungi and plants have a similar lifestyle: they are immobile, they grow on the ground and both have morphological and growth habitat similarities.
Fungi are considered both symbiotic and parasitic organisms in nature since they can develop in other living organisms.
Fungi commonly live in other living things like animals and plants.
fungus is also able to break down organic matter and take the necessary nutrients from it.
They also convert organic matter into inorganic and play a fundamental role in the nutrient exchange cycle.
Fungi are also used as food for humans, since many such as yeast and truffles are edible.
They are also used in the production of antibiotics, detergents, and pesticides.
Some are also powerfully poisonous and rare; there are many others that have psychedelic properties and are used as reactive drugs.
Plantae or Kingdom of Plants
The plants are multicellular organisms that belong to the kingdom Plantae.
The organisms of this kingdom usually present certain characteristics as being multicellular, own cellulose, and have the capacity for photosynthesis.
Plants are found in every habitat, including Antarctica.
The Plantae kingdom includes species such as flowers, conifers, green algae, ferns, and mosses.
It is usually associated with green plants, the ability to produce their own energy, using carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight.
This process is known as photosynthesis and it uses chlorophyll (which gives the green color to plants).
Although in nature, most plants are independent, there are some cases where they are parasitic.
Parasites are plants that do not have the normal ability to produce chlorophyll and are unable to perform photosynthesis.
Are fungi in the plant kingdom?
Historically, the fungus was included in the plant kingdom; since fungi lack chlorophyll and have distinguished components of the cell wall and cell membrane they are placed separately from plants.
The exact number of plant species on Earth is so far unknown; however, estimates indicate that there are more than 300,000. Most of these are seedlings.
Plants can often be divided into fruits, grains, and vegetables, among others.
They play a vital role in sustaining human society, as they produce food, oxygen, and wood.
They also play an important role in the cycles that occur on this planet, such as the water cycle, nitrogen, and other biochemical cycles.
Plants take carbon dioxide and in turn produce the oxygen that is so necessary for the lives of many beings. These are reproduced using sexual, asexual methods or by the dispersion of the spores.
Flowers are considered the sexual organs of plants, while fruits are those that develop through their ovaries and are used to spread seeds.
Plants have a symbiotic relationship with many organisms, including humans, fungi, and insects.
The relationship with humans includes the propagation of their seeds, while some plants rely on fungi and other organisms to acquire the necessary nutrients.
On the other hand, the bees and the birds help to spread the pollen of the flowers.
Humans depend on plants for food, shelter, and medicine.
Other plant products include soaps, perfumes, make-up, turpentine, rubber, linoleum, hemp ropes, plastics, ink, lubricants, and chewing gum.
They are also used for scientific purposes, such as the analysis of carbon rings in trees to determine their age and climates in the past.
In short, fungi and plants differ in many ways. The cell walls of the fungi are created from the chitin, while the cell walls of the plants are made up of cellulose.
Most plants are able to produce their own food, while the fungi depend on other organic substances that provide them with energy.
Contrary to plants, fungi are mostly parasitic in nature. In addition, fungi do not have chlorophyll, which means they cannot perform photosynthesis.
Most plants have roots that help them to stand well on the ground and absorb the water and nutrients needed from the soil,
while fungi are often connected to a network of wire-like substances that helps them grasp the matter and take nutrients from it.
Plants and fungi play different roles in nature, the former are considered primary producers of food, while fungi are considered primary decomposers of food.
The Key Difference between the Fungi Kingdom and the Plantae Kingdom:
Fungi are a group of unicellular and multinucleated organisms that live and grow in the matter.
Plants are multicellular living organisms, whose main characteristics are cellulose and the ability to perform photosynthesis.
