Fungi: mycelia, mushrooms & more

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These tiny organisms matter. They have been used to map dark matter and improve transport networks, and they’re living all around us, says author Lucy Jones

Slime moulds, or myxomycetes, spend part of their life cycle as what are known as fruiting bodies – which look a bit like tiny mushrooms, hence why they were once classified as fungi (they’re actually in the kingdom Protista). Often you will find them, at this stage, in a colony – or, well, I’d suggest galaxy, sweetshop or funfair would be more accurate for a collective noun.

Mysteriously, they are single-celled, with no brain or nervous system, and yet they can solve problems such as mazes; they can decide, anticipate, learn and “teach” younger slime moulds.