A monstrous organism is growing beneath your feet. Every second, it tangles further into the soil, building an extraordinary and powerful invisible web. 

Fungi are all around us. They live in our bodies and on our skin. They are in the air that we breathe and the soil that we step on. Genetically, they are closer to animals than plants.

MycologistsBiologists who study fungi.  estimate that there are up to 3.8 million different species of fungi - but few people know anything about them. "And yet, when you understand their role in the Earth's ecosystem, you realise that they underpin life on Earth," remarks scientist Professor Kathy Willis. Here are just ten of the fungi's astonishing abilities: 

1. Treat depression. New research published this month shows that psilocybin, a psychedelic drug found in some mushroomsMushrooms and toadstools are just the fruiting parts of a much larger organism. , can make the brains of people with severe depression "more flexible and fluid". This means they can escape negative thoughts. 

2. And other ailments... Hippocrates first identified the Amadou mushroom as an anti-inflammatory in 4500 BC. Today, fungi are used in antibiotics, antivirals, anti-cancer compounds and immune-suppressing drugs for organ transplants. 

3. Human hosts. Fungi are a vital part of the human gut microbiome. The fungi in your body cannot live without you. But scientists point out that you cannot live without them either. 

4. Zombie makers. Deep in the Amazon, the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis has a sinister survival technique. It takes over the body of ants, stealing their nutrients and hijacking their minds. Eventually, it forces the ant to climb a plant stem and uses its head to grow more spores. 

5. Immortal spores. Last year, researchers grew a mushroom from sporesCells produced by fungi for reproduction. They are dispersed over a wide area.  recovered from 20-million-year-old sediments found 2.5 kilometres under the Pacific seafloor.

6. Garbage disposal. Without fungi, forests would be buried under heaps of dead plants. Fungi decompose organisms and make the nutrients available for others. "In short, fungi eat death, and in doing so create new life," summarises one journalist. 

7. Wood wide web. A fungal network exists within the soil. Threads of hyphaeThe tiny threads of fungi that weave through the soil. Together, they make up the mycelium. The mycelium in one teaspoon of soil could stretch up to 10 kilometres.  weave together, connecting the roots of plants in a webWhen an ecologist injected radioactive carbon into a birch tree, the radioactive carbon moved through the fungal network into an entirely different nearby species, a Douglas fir. called a mycelium. Incredibly, plants use this web to share nutrients and even information about threats. It is the internet for trees. With the help of fungi, the forest can "act" as one, furthering its own interests like a single organism. 

8. Build the world. Today, people are growing mycelium around delicate goods like natural styrofoam, showcasing mushroom "leather" on the runway and planning skyscrapers built on mycelium instead of concrete. 

9. Save the planet. In 2017, scientists discovered a fungus that could break down plastic in landfill in Pakistan. Other fungi can clear up oil spills and maybe even neutralise nuclear waste. 

10. Drive evolution. Fungal networks helped plants move from the water's edge to huge and complex land ecosystems. They turned the planet green and changed the makeup of the atmosphere. 

Yes: Every creature on the land depends on fungi. Without fungi, there would be no plants, no agriculture, no bread, no chocolate and no people. As one biologist says, "fungi are running the world".

No:  In the battle of the species, it is inevitably humans that come out on top. We have conquered the land, built huge cities and made amazing discoveries. Now, some fungi are even threatenedMany fungi species are threatened by ploughing and the overuse of fungicides and fertilisers. by humans.

Or... Fungi do not set out for world domination. In reality, they connect the world. Without fungal networks, cooperation between species on such a massive scale would not be possible.

Mycologists - Biologists who study fungi. 

Mushrooms - Mushrooms and toadstools are just the fruiting parts of a much larger organism. 

Spores - Cells produced by fungi for reproduction. They are dispersed over a wide area. 

Hyphae - The tiny threads of fungi that weave through the soil. Together, they make up the mycelium. The mycelium in one teaspoon of soil could stretch up to 10 kilometres. 

Web - When an ecologist injected radioactive carbon into a birch tree, the radioactive carbon moved through the fungal network into an entirely different nearby species, a Douglas fir.

Threatened - Many fungi species are threatened by ploughing and the overuse of fungicides and fertilisers.