Kell, this was too good to pass up - hope you don't me being a copy-blogger and using this. The first thing that popped into my head was how this should have been in "Alice In Wonderland."
Whopping Big Mushroom Found In Europe 86-Acre Fungus Is Europe's Biggest OrganismPOSTED: 2:57 pm EDT September 26, 2004
BIRMENSDORF, Switzerland -- Scientists say they've discovered a fungus spanning 86 acres in the Swiss Alps, making it the continent's largest living organism. The Swiss scientists say the Honey Mushroom is about 1,000 years old and lies beneath an Alpine forest. They say it's only visible in the fall when its mushrooms pop up around the roots of trees. The mushrooms aren't dangerous to humans, but they can kill swaths of pine forest. And while it may be the largest in Europe, it pales in comparison to one in eastern Oregon that covers 2,200 acres.
3 comments:
That is cool as hell. You know it's not really a giant mushroom as you might think. What happens is that a "mushroom" spreads it's spores out. The mycelium (body) spreads underground and forms a large circle. The mushrooms pop up on the outer edges of the circle. No mushrooms pop up in the center b/c the original spores sterilize the ground inside the circle to prevent its mushrooms from reproducing in its own circle. It's pretty cool. I may not be 100% accurate with these details but i'm dead tired so my mind is quite funcitonal. I'll have to show this article to my diversity teacher. He loves Fungi!!
Thanks for the clarification, Courtney. I knew I could count on you to splain for us.
And after trying to get a visual of an 86-acre mushroom, I think it would have been more appropriate to be incluced in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Instead of the kids eating the blueberries, they could have eaten some of the giant mushroom.
Psst! Kell doesn't mind, and LACHLAN doesn't EITHER. :)
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