Kingdom Fungi
Fungi are mostly multicellular eukaryotes which include over 80,000 species that share a common mode of nutrition. Mycologists, scientists that study fungi, expect this number of species to increase to over 1.5 million in the future. Like animals, fungi are heterotrophic and ingest preformed organic matter. Fungi are also saprotrophs that absorb food. Their cells send out digestive enzymes into the immediate environment and then, when organic matter is broken down, the cells absorb the resulting nutrient molecules. They can reproduce either asexual or sexual means and diffuse themselves by releasing spores, usually windblown. Fungi interact with other organisms by either forming beneficial or mutualistic associations (mycorrhizae and lichens ) or by causing serious infections. In Mount Hamiguitan Range, species of macrofungi are assessed.
