HOW DOES WOOD ROT?
The life forms on this planet may be generally divided into two basic groups, animal and vegetable. The vegetable (plants, broadly speaking) forms are characterized by the ability to absorb from sunlight the energy they need to live, grow and multiply. The animal life forms are characterized by their inability to absorb light energy from sunlight, although these definitions are simplified. Vegetable life forms are generally rooted in one place, whereas animal life forms are generally capable of movement. A mushroom is rooted in one place although it does not absorb sunlight for energy, relying instead on the energy content of its food. In recent years the scientists who classify things have decided that fungi are different enough from plants that they should get a third, separate category. Life forms now are “animal” and “vegetable” life forms, some of which are called “plants” and some called “fungi”. We are not going to get any more complicated than that. There is a “food chain”, whe
