fungi cannot absorb "carbohydrates", it needs to be broken down
outside of them into building blocks and they can absorb "sugars"
across their cell membranes, across their hyphae. bacteria are the
same in that they secrete substances that break down "food" into
building blocks that can be absorbed.

many bacteria extract their energy from chemicals,like the
chemilithotrophs found at the bottom of sulfur vents deep in the
ocean.

plants gain their energy from the sun, which is hardly a "nutrient" by
your definition. the solar energy is, in the end, trapped in the
covalent bonds between chemicals, like ATP, glucose, starches and
cellulose.

elements and molecules are the basis of all organic and inorganic
molecules. nutrient is anything needed by a biologic system.



n Sun, 26 Aug 2007 18:11:54 -0400, "symplastless"
wrote:


wrote in message
.com...
It all depends on the source. nutrient is a generic term for anything
needed by biological systems. as in micronutrients. scientific will
refer to organic vs inorganic nutrients. Ingrid



Fungi can absorb energy sources such as carbohydrates. Plants cannot do so.
Fungi can absorb nutrients. Nutrients are substances that contain an energy
source, elements, and other substances in types and amounts that are
essential for a healthy life. You can give a fungus a nutrient in the dark
and it will thrive. You can give a plant a nutrient in the dark and it will
die. Plants require light energy from the sun to "make" glucose from
carbon - dioxide and water. The process is called photosynthesis. When you
call fertilizers or nutrients food for trees and other plants it shows you
are ignorant of photosynthesis. many people obviously do not understand
plants. Sad, very sad.

Foods are substances that contain an energy source mostly, and may contain
some elements, and other substances. The main part of food is the energy
source. There are junk foods, fatty foods, and healthy foods. There are many
diet books telling you about healthy foods. Animals can absorb an energy
source. Plants cannot absorb an energy source. fertilizers are not plant
foods. Fertilizers provide elements essential for growth of plants. The
elements are part of salts, usually, that ionize in water. Ions are charged
particles; anions, negative, and cations, positive. Plants "make"
carbohydrates by trapping the light energy of the sun in a process called
photosynthesis. Sad that so many people who work with plants do not know
this. They call fertilizers plant food. very sad.