Colony (biology)In biology, a colony is composed of two or more conspecific individuals living in close association with, or connected to, one another. This association is usually for mutual benefit such as stronger defense or the ability to attack bigger prey. Colonies can form in various shapes and ways depending on the organism involved. For instance, the bacterial colony is a cluster of identical cells (clones). These colonies often form and grow on the surface of (or within) a solid medium, usually derived from a single pa...
PlantPlants are the eukaryotic organisms that constitute the kingdomPlantae(/'plænteɪ/). They are predominantly photosynthetic or came from photosynthetic ancestors, meaning that they obtain their energy from sunlight by using the green pigment chlorophyll in their chloroplasts to produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water. Over the course of time, some plants have evolved to be parasitic, meaning they take energy from other organisms. Except for glaucophytes, some green algae and a few red algae, most plants are...
Vegetative reproductionVegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is a form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or specialized reproductive structures, which are sometimes called vegetative propagules. Many plants naturally reproduce this way, but it can also be induced artificially. Horticulturists have developed asexual propagation techniques that use vegetative propagules to replicate plants. S...
SpeciesA species (pl. species) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. It can be defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour, or ecological niche. In addition, palaeontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil repr...
MyceliumMycelium (pl.: mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Its normal form is that of branched, slender, entangled, anastomosing, hyaline threads. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates. A typical single spore germinates into monokaryotic mycelium, which cannot reproduce sexually; when two compatible monokaryotic mycelia join and form dikaryotic mycelium, that mycelium may form fruiting bodies such as mushro...
Sexual reproductionSexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete (haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote that develops into an organism composed of cells with two sets of chromosomes (diploid). This is typical in animals, though the number of chromosome sets and how that number changes in sexual reproduction varies, especially among plants, fungi, and other eukaryotes. In placenta...
MushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. A toadstool generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence, the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also describes a vari...
BacteriaBacteria are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit the air, soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep biosphere of Earth's crust. Bacteria play a vital role in many stages of the nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients and the fixat...
GeneticsScience of genes, heredity and variationGenetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and in organisms. It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a MoravianAugustinian friar working in the 19th century in Brno, was the first to study genetics scientifically. Mendel studied "trait inheritance", patterns in the way traits are handed down from parents to offspring over time. He observed that organisms (pea plants) inherit traits by way of discrete "u...
SoilSoil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from soil by restricting the former term specifically to displaced soil. Soil consists of a solid collection of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase (Pore space) that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and a liquid phase that holds water and dissolved substances b...
FungusA fungus (pl.: fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. These organisms are classified in the biological kingdom Fungi. A characteristic that places fungus in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists is having chitin in their cell walls. Fungi, like animals, are heterotrophs: they acquire their nutrition by absorbing dissolved organic molecules, typically by secreting digestive enzymes into their environment. A fungus do...
Sporocarp (fungus)The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cycle, while the rest of the life cycle is characterized by vegetativemycelial growth and asexual spore production. The sporocarp of a basidiomycete is known as a basidiocarp or basidiome, while the fruitbody of an ascomycete is known as an ascocarp. Many shapes and morphologie...*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.