Largest Fungus In The World Found Under Tree in China
Humongous Fungus The giant fungus was found living under a fallen tree. The entire fungus weighs between 800-1,100 pounds. via BBC A half-ton, 33-foot-long fungal fruiting body was discovered growing under a felled tree in China, researchers said. It's the most massive fruiting body - equivalent to a mushroom, in other fungal species - ever discovered. The giant fungus is estimated to be 20 years old, according to the BBC. It was feeding on rotting wood, which allowed it to reach its prodigious size. Like this huge fruiting body, mushrooms are actually the spore-bearing fruit of fungus, growing above soil or on top of its food source. The spores produce new generations of fungi. Botanists recently determined that some fungi species use pressurized gas to propel their spores at speeds up to 70 mph within microseconds. This one is estimated to hold 450 million spores, according to the BBC. The fruiting...