fungus

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Latin fungus (“mushroom”).

1. A eukaryotic organism of the kingdom Fungi typically having chitin cell walls but no chlorophyll or plastids. Fungi may be unicellular or multicellular.

   “Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.”

2. The flesh of such an organism.
3. A spongy, abnormal excrescence, such as excessive granulation tissue formed in a wound.