Spotlight on… Fungi! With Izzy the Inspector

Fungi are a large group of living things from yeast that helps bread to rise, to moulds that grow on our food and mushrooms that we eat. Fungi are very important for the growth of most plants. There are some types of fungi that can hurt plants and can be seen as symptoms on the plant.

Izzy the Inspector

Izzy has a call from Mr Khan about some Christmas trees that are looking very unwell…


Mr Khan’s Christmas trees have red leaves (called needles) at the bottom. When Izzy looks at the needles with her magnifying glass, she can see little black dots. Izzy knows that fungi can spread by releasing these little black dots called spores. The spores can be carried on the wind or by water. To help stop it spreading further, Izzy sends some needles off to the laboratory so that she can identify what the fungus is.

Izzy the Inspector Activity Book


Jam-packed with fascinating plant health facts and fun activities… check out our Izzy the Inspector Activity Book!
You can download the PDF on the button below.