Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
Fungus also gets a nod . . . and yes, we know that Fungi and Plantae are different kingdoms, but mushroom-popping mystics historically didn't, and there's no Summon Robert Whittaker spell in the book.
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You know it's kind of funny. Fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants, but in most schools, if you want to study fungi, you do so through the Botany Department. Well, you might do it through the Plant Pathology Department instead (that's where all of my academic exposure to fungus comes from).* In other words, the way that academia treats fungus is not much more progressive than Magic: Plant Spells does.
*In case you don't know, plant pathology is the study of diseases of plants. It's a critical part of the advancement of agriculture, as there is a continuous arms race between plant pathogens and plant breeders (and other scientists who combat the pathogens.) Fungi make up a good number of the various plant pathogens. Heck, the crowd of kingdoms that attack the plants is very much larger than those that attack animals.