release substances from within.
Mushrooms, Truffles,
and Relatives
Mushrooms and their relatives are not true
plants. They belong to a separate biological
kingdom, the Fungi (the plural form of
fungus), which they share with molds and
yeasts.
Creatures of Symbiosis
and Decay
Unlike plants, the fungi have no chlorophyll
and cannot harvest energy from sunlight. They
therefore live off the substance of other living
things, including plants and plant remains.
Different mushrooms do this in different
ways. Some mushrooms, including boletes
and truffles, form a symbiosis with living
trees, a relationship in which both partners