Which of the following plants is not capable of manufacturing own food?

Organisms are classified as autotrophs or heterotrophs based on their ability to manufacture food. Green plants, such as carrots and cabbage, and algae are autotrophs that use photosynthesis to produce glucose from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll [c1, c4, t2]. Algae, while sometimes classified separately from the plant kingdom today, are photosynthetic and serve as primary producers [t6, t9]. In contrast, mushrooms are a type of fungi. Fungi are non-photosynthetic, heterotrophic organisms that lack chlorophyll [c3, t1]. They cannot manufacture their own food and instead obtain nutrients through saprophytic or parasitic modes, often decomposing dead organic matter [c2, c3, t6]. Therefore, among the given options, the mushroom is the only organism incapable of manufacturing its own food.

Sources

1. [1] Science ,Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 12: How Nature Works in Harmony > Activity 12.5: Let us classify > p. 198
2. [2] Science , class X (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Life Processes > How do living things get their food? > p. 81
3. [3] Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 9: Indian Biodiversity Diverse Landscape > 2. Fungi: > p. 156
4. [4] Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 10: Life Processes in Plants > In a Nutshell > p. 150