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Very Short Introductions #455
Fungi: A Very Short Introduction
The variety of the mycological world is far greater than most people imagine. Tens of thousands of fungal species have been described and many more are known only from the abundance of their genes in soil and water. Fungi are hugely important as agents of wood decay in forests, and, as parasites, they have caused the deaths of millions of people by ravaging crops and reshaping our natural ecosystems.
Fungi also perform a variety of essential functions in ecosystems, and are important to both agriculture and biotechnology. Their importance is now becoming greatly appreciated among scientists, though there is much still to be understood concerning their taxonomy and evolution. This Very Short Introduction highlights the variety and extraordinary natures of fungi, revealing the remarkable facts of fungal biology and the global significance of these enchanting organisms.
ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Fungi also perform a variety of essential functions in ecosystems, and are important to both agriculture and biotechnology. Their importance is now becoming greatly appreciated among scientists, though there is much still to be understood concerning their taxonomy and evolution. This Very Short Introduction highlights the variety and extraordinary natures of fungi, revealing the remarkable facts of fungal biology and the global significance of these enchanting organisms.
ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
160 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2016
56 people are currently reading
585 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas P. Money
22 books49 followersNicholas Money is a mycologist, science writer, and professor at Miami University.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 26, 2019
Bear with me. Fungi might sound like the most brutally boring topic on the planet, but hopefully by the end of the review you’ll be convinced it’s worth learning at least 125 pages about the basics of these unexpectedly powerful organisms. Regardless of whether you agree with people like Paul Stamets who suggest that if the planet is to be saved, the solution will no doubt hinge on fungi, (FYI – Dr. Money, author of this book, explicitly urges caution about such grand hopes) there’s no denying that these musty denizens of the forest floor (and almost everywhere else) are profoundly important to humanity. From taking out the trash in their role as decomposers to serving as the key ingredient in medicines to helping us digest foods to allowing us to make beer and bread, fungi can be greatly beneficial. They can also be legendarily deadly.
This book gives an overview of fungi with special emphasis on their interaction with the world. The book consists of eight chapters. The first three of these chapters look at the members of the Kingdom more or less in isolation, and the rest of the chapters delve more into how fungi interact with ecosystems and other organisms. Chapter one discusses what fungi are exactly, and what defines members of this kingdom. Given that most people only think of the fruiting bodies of certain kinds of fungus (e.g. the button or shitake mushrooms they get at the supermarket), being explicit about what separates fungus from other organisms is useful. This leads into the second chapter, which explores the huge diversity of this kingdom. The third chapter explores the genetics and life-cycle of fungi. All of these chapters are limited by the fact that there are far too many varieties of fungi to dive into specifics, given how wildly divergent they can be.
The other five chapters explore how fungi interact, and these chapters also move from more general interaction to those specific to mammals in general and to humans, specifically. Chapter four is entitled “Fungal Mutualisms” and it introduces how fungi interact with other species. Specifically, the chapter focus on interactions that are mutually helpful or at least not harmful to either party. Parasitic relationships, in which one participant (specifically plants) is damaged by the relationship, are saved for their own chapter -- five. Chapter six investigates the role that fungi are perhaps most known and beloved for, decomposition.
The last two chapters deal with fungal interactions with animals, with specific emphasis on how they benefit or hinder humans. Chapter seven considers how fungi contribute to health or illness in animals. The reader learns about the good (e.g. contributions to digestion), the bad (e.g. infections) and the trippy (psychedelic mushrooms and derivatives – e.g. LSD comes from ergot fungus.) The final chapter explores edible mushrooms and the fungal role in biotechnology, including: pharmacology, fermentation, and bio-fuel production.
The book has many graphics that consist mostly of line drawings but include a few frames microscope photography. There is also a brief “Further Reading” section that suggests other books as well as websites.
I’d recommend this book as a first step to learning more about fungi. It won’t help with things like identification, but it’s a nice overview of a surprisingly broad topic for a neophyte. As is common with this series from the Oxford University Press, there’s not a lot of room for long stories that might make the reading more entertaining, and so its probably not the most engrossing book one can find on the topic, but it’s likely one of the most concise and accurate.
This book gives an overview of fungi with special emphasis on their interaction with the world. The book consists of eight chapters. The first three of these chapters look at the members of the Kingdom more or less in isolation, and the rest of the chapters delve more into how fungi interact with ecosystems and other organisms. Chapter one discusses what fungi are exactly, and what defines members of this kingdom. Given that most people only think of the fruiting bodies of certain kinds of fungus (e.g. the button or shitake mushrooms they get at the supermarket), being explicit about what separates fungus from other organisms is useful. This leads into the second chapter, which explores the huge diversity of this kingdom. The third chapter explores the genetics and life-cycle of fungi. All of these chapters are limited by the fact that there are far too many varieties of fungi to dive into specifics, given how wildly divergent they can be.
The other five chapters explore how fungi interact, and these chapters also move from more general interaction to those specific to mammals in general and to humans, specifically. Chapter four is entitled “Fungal Mutualisms” and it introduces how fungi interact with other species. Specifically, the chapter focus on interactions that are mutually helpful or at least not harmful to either party. Parasitic relationships, in which one participant (specifically plants) is damaged by the relationship, are saved for their own chapter -- five. Chapter six investigates the role that fungi are perhaps most known and beloved for, decomposition.
The last two chapters deal with fungal interactions with animals, with specific emphasis on how they benefit or hinder humans. Chapter seven considers how fungi contribute to health or illness in animals. The reader learns about the good (e.g. contributions to digestion), the bad (e.g. infections) and the trippy (psychedelic mushrooms and derivatives – e.g. LSD comes from ergot fungus.) The final chapter explores edible mushrooms and the fungal role in biotechnology, including: pharmacology, fermentation, and bio-fuel production.
The book has many graphics that consist mostly of line drawings but include a few frames microscope photography. There is also a brief “Further Reading” section that suggests other books as well as websites.
I’d recommend this book as a first step to learning more about fungi. It won’t help with things like identification, but it’s a nice overview of a surprisingly broad topic for a neophyte. As is common with this series from the Oxford University Press, there’s not a lot of room for long stories that might make the reading more entertaining, and so its probably not the most engrossing book one can find on the topic, but it’s likely one of the most concise and accurate.
September 20, 2023
Really interesting VSI, but a bit to dense imo, especially the first 40 pages. Some aspects of the topic don't get enough attention. But it's nearly impossible to go "in depth" about fungi in less than 130 pages.
September 4, 2022
Average people know of fungi mostly through food. Mix of dough saved is called leaven in bible. Cheese making involve bacteria fermenting lactose in milk. Yeasts play subsidiary roles in flavoring and ripening cheese, etc. Certain mushrooms have psychoactive compound psilocybin (similar in chemical structure to serotonin). They cause euphoria and other hallucinatory experiences. The biological reasons for these effects are not understood yet.
Fungi don’t always help though. They are the most important cause of plant diseases (e.g., 1840s Irish potato famine). Rye bread contaminated by ergot (a fungal disease) was a major threat to health in the Middle Ages. Fungi that cause food spoilage produces toxin which can pose food safety concerns. The most significant mycotoxins can cause cancer.
Fungi have a long history. Before we had alcohol, yeasts have been making alcohol for animals for millions of years. They are estimated to have emerged ~1 billion years ago. Fungi feed by releasing enzymes to breakdown complex substances. They grow by (a) elongation and branching or (b) forming buds. Those taking the second growth method are also called yeast. (We use the name yeast in a narrower sense to mean a single type of yeast used in baking). A yeast cell is 3x wider than a bacterium and half of a red blood cell. There are many more species of fungi than mammals or birds, but challenging in defining species. Their growth is also varied. Truffles take 7-15 years to harvest. But a mushroom can absorb water and appear overnight. There are also many types of mutualisms involving fungi. Lichens are a type of mutualism with a photosynthetic microorganism embedded in a lattice of fungi. Ants farm mushroom by feeding them leaves. In other cases, it’s not even clear to scientists whether one organism is benefiting or being a victim.
Fungi don’t always help though. They are the most important cause of plant diseases (e.g., 1840s Irish potato famine). Rye bread contaminated by ergot (a fungal disease) was a major threat to health in the Middle Ages. Fungi that cause food spoilage produces toxin which can pose food safety concerns. The most significant mycotoxins can cause cancer.
Fungi have a long history. Before we had alcohol, yeasts have been making alcohol for animals for millions of years. They are estimated to have emerged ~1 billion years ago. Fungi feed by releasing enzymes to breakdown complex substances. They grow by (a) elongation and branching or (b) forming buds. Those taking the second growth method are also called yeast. (We use the name yeast in a narrower sense to mean a single type of yeast used in baking). A yeast cell is 3x wider than a bacterium and half of a red blood cell. There are many more species of fungi than mammals or birds, but challenging in defining species. Their growth is also varied. Truffles take 7-15 years to harvest. But a mushroom can absorb water and appear overnight. There are also many types of mutualisms involving fungi. Lichens are a type of mutualism with a photosynthetic microorganism embedded in a lattice of fungi. Ants farm mushroom by feeding them leaves. In other cases, it’s not even clear to scientists whether one organism is benefiting or being a victim.
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April 28, 2024concise, informative, covered a wide range of fungi for a short introduction! gave me quite a few jumping-off points to do further readings about -- i particularly appreciated the bit on marine/aquatic fungi, exacerbation by climate change, mrsa, and various impacts I had no prior knowledge about
there are some little quips and author's opinions that made me raise my eyebrows at the fact that they were included in a book of this length 🤨 but I'm still getting into this field and haven't formed my opinions about the many controversies in mycology lol, so I won't go into them
there are some little quips and author's opinions that made me raise my eyebrows at the fact that they were included in a book of this length 🤨 but I'm still getting into this field and haven't formed my opinions about the many controversies in mycology lol, so I won't go into them
February 22, 2020
Nice introduction to fungi. I learned a lot. There is a more thorough work on fungi coming up so this was just a teaser.
November 30, 2022
If you want a crash course in deep mycology with little insight, just the facts, read this.
Nicholas P Money is the author of that book I hated so much that I broke my no -2-books-by-the-same-author-in-one-year rule to recover with I delightful pallet cleansing book about how to smell trees by David Haskel. And then I some how accidentally read another of Money's books! What was I thinking? I don't know how it happened but I'm glad it did. Fungi, a very short introduction, is part of a huge series of pocket books with similar titles. There's one on free will, one on witchcraft, game theory, sleep, magic, madness, nothing, Evolution, quantum theory, fractals, Forests, ritual, water and sound, to name the few I am most attracted to from the list of 400 topics across science, politics and culture that I found printed on the last pages of this book.
I'm enjoying Fungi because presumably Oxford emposes a formula to the Very Short Introduction series that leaves little place for the author's personal biases and rants (although he still snuck in an unnecessary mysongement about Beatrix Potter, loudly looked down his nose at Chinese Medicine and ended the book with a jab at Paul Stamets and radically mycology's enthusiasm for mycotech.) But the majority of the book is RICH with deep geek details of fungal biology, physiology and ecology. It mostly leaves out anything about humans and our history (although still looks at mycology through the lense of capitalism, as is custom in science)
This book is a good place to learn about decomposition, ecological succession and symbiosis.
Nicholas P Money is the author of that book I hated so much that I broke my no -2-books-by-the-same-author-in-one-year rule to recover with I delightful pallet cleansing book about how to smell trees by David Haskel. And then I some how accidentally read another of Money's books! What was I thinking? I don't know how it happened but I'm glad it did. Fungi, a very short introduction, is part of a huge series of pocket books with similar titles. There's one on free will, one on witchcraft, game theory, sleep, magic, madness, nothing, Evolution, quantum theory, fractals, Forests, ritual, water and sound, to name the few I am most attracted to from the list of 400 topics across science, politics and culture that I found printed on the last pages of this book.
I'm enjoying Fungi because presumably Oxford emposes a formula to the Very Short Introduction series that leaves little place for the author's personal biases and rants (although he still snuck in an unnecessary mysongement about Beatrix Potter, loudly looked down his nose at Chinese Medicine and ended the book with a jab at Paul Stamets and radically mycology's enthusiasm for mycotech.) But the majority of the book is RICH with deep geek details of fungal biology, physiology and ecology. It mostly leaves out anything about humans and our history (although still looks at mycology through the lense of capitalism, as is custom in science)
This book is a good place to learn about decomposition, ecological succession and symbiosis.
May 9, 2017
This delightful book accomplishes its purpose exactly. I began reading because I was not sure what fungi are. Money begins his book by answering this question then introducing the reader the fascinatingly diverse world of fungi. Coming from a physics background, I appreciated Money's insistence on describing fundamental concepts of fungal biology, then showing the more interesting examples of this biology, while skipping the tedious steps in between that are best left to the experts. The structure of this also keeps the reader constantly engaged by covering interesting topics in a logical progression (e.g. fungal mutualism, fungal parasitism, decomposition, followed by fungal interactions with humans). Overall, this book has given me a greater understanding and appreciation of for the beauty of the life all around us by embracing a perhaps the most overlooked kingdom of organisms.
August 2, 2019
Short, sweet, informative. I thought, however, the structure of the book was unhelpful to learning. Given the short space available I would have opted for something different. Otherwise great.
March 29, 2021
Fijne introductie over gisten, paddestoelen en allerhande schimmels. Dit boek belicht verschillende aspecten van de mycologie, van oorsprong en opbouw over classificatie naar metabolisme en voortplanting. Ook de rol van schimmels in ons ecosysteem en hun toepassingen in de industrie worden onder de loep genomen.
Voor mensen die echt een 'deep dive' in de materie willen lijkt het me wel aangeraden om te beginnen met een uitgebreider, en dan vooral rijker geïllustreerd boek. Het gebrek aan ondersteunend beeldmateriaal en het snelle heen en weer springen tussen soorten op basis van hun wetenschappelijke namen maakt het voor lezers onbekend met het onderwerp - zoals ikzelf - soms moeilijk te volgen.
Dat gezegd zijnde doet dit boek erg goed wat het als 'very short introduction' belooft te doen, een algemeen begrip meegeven van fungi en hun plaats in onze wereld.
Voor mensen die echt een 'deep dive' in de materie willen lijkt het me wel aangeraden om te beginnen met een uitgebreider, en dan vooral rijker geïllustreerd boek. Het gebrek aan ondersteunend beeldmateriaal en het snelle heen en weer springen tussen soorten op basis van hun wetenschappelijke namen maakt het voor lezers onbekend met het onderwerp - zoals ikzelf - soms moeilijk te volgen.
Dat gezegd zijnde doet dit boek erg goed wat het als 'very short introduction' belooft te doen, een algemeen begrip meegeven van fungi en hun plaats in onze wereld.
June 7, 2020
These are the Cliff Notes to Cliff Notes---Very Short Introduction series of which there must be over a hundred from Fungi to Zen and Jung to Economics. Fungi, it turns out, are everywhere and have been for several hundred million years, give or take. On humans, beneath orchids and the one in Oregon perhaps the largest living thing. Didn't precede coal, but now do rot wood, make bread and beer and nourish trees.
October 1, 2020
This short introduction is packed with cool facts about fungi and how it exists and how in interfaces with the life around it. Very easy to read and hard to put down. Some points toward the end were a little too hard science for me but still comprehendible and skimming didn’t detract from the rest of the book.
December 30, 2022
A difficult read if you're coming at it from a non-scientific background as it's heavy on jargon, although it did have some interesting sections that I was able to dip into and learn from. As fungi is such a broad topic, the format of the book is to give concise, factual information so it's not a thrilling read and I imagine there are other books out there that tackle it in a more engaging way.
January 15, 2020
A great introduction to mycology!
This short guide will tell you everything that you need to know about mycology without going into too much detail.
This short guide will tell you everything that you need to know about mycology without going into too much detail.
January 15, 2025
My favourite section was the one on Smut.
July 6, 2024
I think my enjoyment of this book arose more from my own interest in the subject than the quality of the writing itself. As with many Very Short Introductions, it gives an excellent taste of the entire field of mycology and its many areas of study, from the molecular biology of spores, to its ecological relationships, to its possible uses in the future of bioethanol. Very interesting stuff, and now I can’t stop accidentally blurting out fungus facts at random times in conversation.
However, sometimes the writing could have been better. While it broke the subjects down well, the organization sometimes made me feel lost in a web of information, and it bothered me how the paragraphs switched topics so much— especially if I was looking forward to reading more about what I THOUGHT was the topic sentence of the paragraph only for it to actually be about something else.
Overall, a good (short) introduction, but it feels more like talking to a scientist than an author— so you have to be engaged in the topic to begin with. (Or just pick the parts you’re interested in, instead of reading it cover-to-cover.)
However, sometimes the writing could have been better. While it broke the subjects down well, the organization sometimes made me feel lost in a web of information, and it bothered me how the paragraphs switched topics so much— especially if I was looking forward to reading more about what I THOUGHT was the topic sentence of the paragraph only for it to actually be about something else.
Overall, a good (short) introduction, but it feels more like talking to a scientist than an author— so you have to be engaged in the topic to begin with. (Or just pick the parts you’re interested in, instead of reading it cover-to-cover.)
September 27, 2016
I like the concept of this series, having a nice little pocket-sized (I can literally fit them in cargo short pockets comfortably) books, but I often find that they can be slow reading. Not the case with this book. That may have been because I was motivated by the hold someone else had on it to finish it up and send it on to the next person, but credit definitely belongs with the incredibly clear writing in this book, which I believe succeeds in the author's stated goal to use the minimum amount of jargon necessary for clarity, and also with the engaging topic, though I believe my engagement is particular. Certainly fungi are fascinating in their own right, but to a speculative-fiction-minded person like myself, the strangeness of their biological processes, and their position in the tree of life (sessile like plants, but more closely related to animals), suggest all sorts of interesting possibilities. I gathered enough ideas and inspiration for a short story or two, or a few RPG adventures, possibly even a whole campaign for something like Call of Cthulhu, if I felt I could run it properly.
January 17, 2017
Chapter 1: What is a fungus?
Chapter 2: Fungal diversity
Chapter 3: Fungal genetics and lifecycles
Chapter 4: Fungal mutualisms
Chapter 5: Fungi as parasites of plants
Chapter 6: Fungi and decomposition
Chapter 7: Fungi in animal health and disease
Chapter 8: Edible mushrooms and fungal biotechnology
Chapter 2: Fungal diversity
Chapter 3: Fungal genetics and lifecycles
Chapter 4: Fungal mutualisms
Chapter 5: Fungi as parasites of plants
Chapter 6: Fungi and decomposition
Chapter 7: Fungi in animal health and disease
Chapter 8: Edible mushrooms and fungal biotechnology
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews