the chitin in the outer cell walls of fungi forms a protective yet flexible casing. it acts like a shield around the hyphae, allowing them to penetrate dense soil, wood, and, in some species, rock. like roots, hyphae grow at their tipe.
tremendous turgor pressure-up to 10 atmospheres-- heips propel the tips through soil or wood. (for comparison, the air pressure in a car tire is 3 atmospheres) Each hypha stretches into its environment like a tubular balloon that's continuously inflating it's inflating with watery cytoplasm, not air
Hyphae branch repeatedly, forming a Mycelium, the body of a single. By extending Hyphae into new territory, the mycelium can over a very large area.The current record holder is a specimen of honey fungus, which was discovered in oregon in 2000. the fungus extends beneath an area larger than 1600 foodball fields.