fungi
MOST MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMS grow by laying down new layers of cells.
Cells divide to make more cells which then divide again. A liver is made by piling liver cells on top of liver cells. The same goes for a muscle or a carrot. Hyphae are different; they grow by getting longer. Under the right conditions, a hypha can prolong itself indefinitely.
Fungi still misinterpreted today because of anthropomorphism. Nevertheless, metaphors help us understand science.
Going viral < Going fungal
(lack of) a definition - wood wide web
It is likely that fungi have been manipulating animal minds for much of the time that there have been minds to manipulate.
Once infected by the fungus, ants are stripped of their instinctive fear of heights, leave the relative safety of their nests, and climb up the nearest plant — a syndrome known as “summit disease.” In due course the fungus forces the ant to clamp its jaws around the plant in a “death grip.” Mycelium grows from the ant’s feet and stitches them to th... See more
It’s less about the identity of the “singers” in the lichen, and more about what they do—the metabolic “song” that each of them sings. In this view, lichens are dynamic systems rather than a catalogue of interacting components.
It’s less about the singer; more about the song
Mycelium is polyphony in bodily form.