Mushrooms are merely one of many types of fungi. Not all fungi grow in soil. Mushrooms and other fungi do resemble plants in many ways, so much so that scientists long classified fungi plants, but they know better now. Eating Habits Where it truly counts, fungi differ from plants significantly. One major difference lies in how they eat. Plants are characterized by their ability to make their own food, using chlorophyll, sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Fungi cannot make their own food. They have to consume other living or once living organisms. Fungi aren’t animals either, but for what it’s worth, some scientists consider them more akin to animals than plants. It’s even thought that fungi and animals may share a similar single-celled ancestor. A major defining difference between the two kingdoms, however, is that while fungi do indeed have to consume other material, they don’t have stomachs like animals. Fungi have special cells that allow them to absorb their food.