Thursday 31 August 2023

Funga Face?

Fungi have always, compared to animals and plants, been a relatively neglected group of organisms. When, for example, conservationists speak about a location, they generally refer to its Fauna (animals) and Flora (plants). There's no Latinised term for the fungi. The Fungi Foundation, now advocate introducing the term 'Funga', to deal with conservation issues (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/30/flora-fauna-and-funga-un-backs-new-term-for-conservation-discussions). 'Funga', isn't a Latin term, but has 'morphological similarity' to Fauna and Flora. This seems a sensible suggestion and could lead to fungi being more recognised and protected as important components of ecosystems. Why, however, stop there? Bacteria are also important agents, determining environmental health. Perhaps, we should refer to an environment's Fauna, Flora, Funga and Bacta?

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