Fungus-Inspired Optimization Algorithm Solves Hard Problems Faster

A new graph-structured optimizer called Mycelial Search (Myco) takes on continuous optimization by balancing information sharing with diverse search directions. Candidate solutions evolve as a spatial graph, using active tips, community-weighted flow, adaptive cord plasticity, and anchor-based injection to guide exploration. Tested on the CEC 2022 single-objective bound-constrained benchmark suite at dimensions 10 and 20, with 30 independent runs per setup, Myco reached competitive results on selected functions against eleven established optimizers. Ablation analysis shows community structure regulates how far graph-based information travels, while cord plasticity controls the persistence of local directional influence. The findings suggest graph-structured local interaction can support continuous optimization, depending on landscape structure and information transfer across local search regions. The Python implementation is publicly available on GitHub.