Is the common edible mushroom an autotro | Class 12 Biology Chapter Ecosystem, Ecosystem NCERT Solutions

Autotrophs are those organisms which prepare their own food. They make organic food from the inorganic matter by their own by the photosynthesis. On the other hand, heterotrophs are those organisms which cannot make their own food and they are dependent on other organism for the food consumption i.e., they feeds on autotrophs.

The edible mushroom is a heterotroph because it cannot make their own food and depends on the other organisms as it does not contain chlorophyll. Mushrooms are saprophytes and contain saprophytic type of nutrition also known as absorptive nutrition, which absorbs the fluid in the form of food through their body surface (food is broken down outside the body and then absorbed).