Fungus On leftover chocolate.

Jun 04, 2020 • 10:57 PM UTC

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Microorganisms

Aaqifa Shaikh

Aspiring biologist. Believes in science communication and outreach.

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Fungi are eukaryotic, heterotrophic organisms. Fungi are an ancient group—not as old as bacteria, which fossil evidence suggests may be 3. 5 billion years old—but the earliest fungal fossils are from the Ordovician, 460 to 455 million years old (Redecker et al. 2000). The organisms of the fungal lineage include mushrooms, rusts, smuts, puffballs, truffles, morels, molds, and yeasts, as well as many less well-known organisms. The study of fungus is known as Mycology.

Fungi grow as hyphae which are cylindrical, thread-like structures 2–10 micrometer in diameter and up to several centimeters in length. Sporangiophore is the stalk of the fungus upon which sporangium is located. Inside the sporangium, spores are present. Spores upon dispersal help in propagation of fungus to other location.

Diagram illustrating different parts of a fungus.

The growth which is visible in the picture above (yellow) grew on leftover chocolate on an utensil used for baking chocolate cake.
Fungus requires moist and humid conditions to grow. So folks remember to wash your utensils and dry them completely or else be ready to face some fungus and its spores.