THALLOPHYTES 65 



parasites or saprophytes, and therefore they are of great 

 economic importance. They may be very useful, as are the 

 soil Fungi, or they may be very injurious, as are the disease- 

 producing Fungi. 



The bodies of Fungi range from single cells (as the Bac- 

 teria) to filamentous bodies (the mycelia of true Fungi), 

 and many of the higher forms become quite complex. The 

 reproductive methods are also the same as those of Algae; 

 namely, vegetative multiplication, spore-reproduction, and 

 sexual-reproduction with its differentiations. But among 

 the higher Fungi the sexual-reproduction becomes less and 

 less obvious, and in some cases it may have disappeared. 



While the Algae may be said to represent the foundation 

 upon which the plant kingdom has been built, the Fungi 

 hold no relation to the higher groups. In the history of 

 the plant kingdom, therefore, the Algae are much more im- 

 portant than the Fungi ; but in the economic interests of 

 man, the Fungi are much more important than the Algae. 



