Question

Why is the fungus rarely noticed during its vegetative phase?

Answer 1

Hint: The fungi are a group of organisms which are similar to both plants and animals in some aspect. These are eukaryotic organisms and differ from plants and animals in having a chitinous cell wall. These are generally found in damp areas or on the surface of other plants.

Complete answer:
Since, fungi are kept in a different kingdom still they share some of the morphological, biochemical and genetic features with both animals and plants, while some features are limited to fungi which differentiates them from others. Some of the features of organisms of kingdom fungi are:
- They possess a chitinous cell wall; membrane bound organelles like nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, vacuoles etc.
- These are heterotrophic in nature and can be multicellular or unicellular.
- They can reproduce by sexual as well as asexual mode of reproduction. These produce spores which have the ability to germinate into new organisms.
- The fungi grow into tubular, elongated filamentous structures called hyphae which contain multiple nuclei. A collection of hyphae is called mycelium.
- The spores are formed as a result of sexual and asexual reproduction which develops into fruiting bodies in favorable conditions.
- The fungi mainly exhibit two phases in its life: the vegetative phase and the reproductive phase.

In addition, the vegetative phase consists of tubular, elongated thread like hyphae tangled into one another whereas the other phase that is the reproductive phase is clearly visible. The vegetative phase of the fungi is not visible due to the hyaline nature of fungi. These fungi grow in filamentous form with colorless hyphae. Also, the major part of the mycelium lies inside the substratum from which it derives its nutrition.

Note: The sexual reproduction in fungi occurs only when there is adverse condition that does not support asexual reproduction. In sexual reproduction two different mating types are produced. They can either be produced on the same mycelium or on different mycelium.