There are many interesting facts about mushrooms. Japanese researchers have established for certain that the mushroom can think and remember, and the mycelium is a unique natural underground "Internet"! It is also interesting that the mycelium itself can grow indefinitely, sometimes reaching monstrous sizes. About 10 years ago in the state of Michigan (USA) a 2000-year-old mushroom net was discovered, it spread underground over 900 hectares, which is equal to about 1800 football fields. Considering that the mycelium is the vegetative body of the fungus, we can safely say that the "Michigan miracle" is the largest mushroom in the world.

There are several more similar mycelium monsters on earth:

• the dark honey agaric or, scientifically, Armillaria ostoyae, has a huge mycelium of 35 hectares in the National Park in Switzerland near the Offen Pass. The mycelium is at least 1000 years old and is the largest in Europe;
• in 1992, researchers in Washington state accidentally stumbled upon mycelium that covered 600 hectares;
• before the discovery of the “Michigan Diva”, the title “The Biggest Mushroom” belonged to an organism that scientists found in 2000 in a relict forest in Oregon (USA). The honey agaric mycelium has grown simply to a gigantic size: it occupied 880 hectares, which is equal to 1,700 football fields, while its threads go about one and a half meters deep. The age of this mycelium is 2500 years!

Outside, we see only representatives of this huge living creature - mushrooms with a stem and a cap, of a normal size and familiar to the eye. Meanwhile, in nature there are also huge mushrooms (in the usual sense of the word). The largest mushrooms in the world are described below, which amaze the imagination with their size and weight.

giant mushrooms

A huge raincoat from the champignon family was found in 1987 by Canadian Jean Guy Richard. This giant mushroom had a circumference of 2.6 meters, weighed 24 kg! A photo of a mushroom picker with his trophy immediately hit the Internet and scattered around the world. Scientists, evaluating the find, concluded: the raincoat could produce such a number of spores that the mushrooms that grew from their generation could cover the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bour planet three times.

Just 1 kg "lost" raincoat mushroom, which a local resident found in 2007 in southern Mexico in the state of Chiapas. With a height of 67 cm, he weighed 23 kg. A year later, in 2008, again in Mexico, a biologist discovered a mushroom weighing 22 kg. Here are the giants! They can feed the whole village!

The largest mushroom (with a stem and cap) ever found in Europe is considered to be a champignon weighing 14 kg. It grew quietly in a field in the Italian province of Bari until it was found and cut by local farmer Francesco Quito. Together with his wife, they delivered the find home by car, cleaned it, cut it, fried it, and invited all the neighbors for a treat! This was a feast for the whole world!

In last place is a rather modest find of 25-year-old girl Terry Hodson Walker. She found the fungus on her land in the English county of Staffordshire in 2011. In fact, the fungus, indeed, has a very modest size compared to the giants described above. Its diameter was only 47 cm, and its weight was just over 2 kg. But for some reason, this find was given a lot of attention, a photo of a girl with a mushroom walks all over the Internet under the loud title "The biggest mushroom in the world"! Maybe the girl is pretty, because the mushroom is clearly not the biggest and does not deserve such interest ...

Russian record holders

This is again a raincoat mushroom. It was found in 2011 in the Permian forest by a fan of "silent hunting" Vladislav Grabosinsky. After measurements and weighing, it turned out that the giant has a hat with a diameter of no less than 1 meter 72 cm, its height is 52 cm, and it weighs 12 kg 150 grams. Vladislav did not eat the find, but delivered it intact to the Botany Department of the Perm University. Let them study for health!

Another record holder is the Russian birch boletus, found in a forest in the Tomsk region. It was discovered by local mushroom picker Aleksey Korol while picking mushrooms near his village. The man was simply shocked by the find: the height of the leg of the giant mushroom was 28 cm, and the diameter of his hat was 36 centimeters, while he weighed 2.4 kilograms! Interestingly, the mushroom was absolutely clean, without wormholes and damage.

If large raincoats or tinder fungus are periodically found, then such a giant boletus is an incredible rarity. So far, not a single such fungus has been officially recorded. Although the whole point may be that ordinary people who find something similar do not understand the full value of the find. They simply rejoice at the big mushroom, take pictures with it as a keepsake and eat together a unique mushroom. Photos from the Internet prove that such giants are found in Russia.

For example, this photo from the web is clearly real. On it, two charming ladies represent just a huge mushroom, but no information about it has been found ... Therefore, it is advisable to report such finds to specialists, although it is not a fact that the giant will not be taken away, then you won’t have to try it, and it will be a little insulting ...

giant tinder fungus

Another giant mushroom was found in 2015 in China. Its scientific name is Ganoderma Lucidum or varnished polypore. The Chinese call it "Lingzhi" or "mushroom of immortality", claiming that this species prolongs life, preserves eternal youth, improves health, relieves hypertension and allergies, cures asthma and even oncology.

The find's cap diameter is 107 cm, and the "mushroom" weighed 7.5 kg. Experts valued it at $900.

In general, large tinder fungi are not so rare. For example, in the UK, on ​​the territory of the Institute of Mycology, a tinder fungus grows, the diameter of which has already reached 4 meters!

Highest

The tallest mushroom in the world is the parasol. It can be found in the forests of many European countries, as well as in Russia. On average, this fungus has a hat up to 30 cm in diameter, which is attached to a stem up to 40 cm high. But this is an average. Finds up to 1 meter high have been recorded! A mushroom to the waist is already from the country of giants!

From the Guinness Book of Records

There are two amazing entries in this Book:

• according to the first, in 1946 in Washington (USA) a tinder fungus was found, a real giant, whose dimensions were 140x94 cm, and it weighed as much as 136 kg!
• the second entry says that in 1985, again in the USA, in Wisconsin, a raincoat with a girth of almost 195 cm grew.

It is even difficult to imagine such a thing. But the Guinness Book of Records is credible...

In this article, we invite you on a fascinating tour of the list of the 25 largest living things on Earth, ranging from giants by microscopic standards - viruses, bacteria and amoebae to the largest invertebrates, insects, amphibians, birds, reptiles, fish, mammals, plants and mushrooms.

1. The largest known virus (1.5 microns in length)

One can argue for a long time whether viruses are actually living organisms - some biologists say yes, others are not so sure. However, there is no doubt that Pithovirus a real giant among viruses known to science (about 1.5 microns in length), 50 percent more than the nearest record holder - Pandoravirus. Perhaps you thought that a pathogen of such a size as Pithovirus capable of infecting large animals such as elephants, hippos or even humans. But do not worry, the virus only infects amoebas, which are not much larger than itself.

2. The world's largest bacterium (more than 0.5 mm in length)

Thiomargarita namibiensis- translated from Latin means "Namibian sulfur pearl". The bacterium got its name because of the sulfur granules included in the cytoplasm, giving it a shiny appearance. Size thiomargarita namibiensis is more than half a millimeter wide, which makes it possible to see it with the naked eye. Thiomargarita namibiensis absolutely harmless to humans and animals, as it is a lithotroph (organisms that use inorganic substances as oxidizable substrates (electron donors)).

3. The largest amoeba on the planet (3 mm long)

The largest amoeba belongs to the genus Chaos. Of course, she is much smaller than the monstrous amoebas from comics and sci-fi movies. But still, this is a real giant among amoebas, which is easy to see with the naked eye. Another feature of the world's largest amoeba is the ability to digest small multicellular organisms, bacteria and protists.

4. The heaviest beetle (85-110 g)

Despite the fact that the goliath is not the longest beetle in the world, nevertheless, given their mass (some individuals weigh more than 100 g), they certainly live up to their name. The goliath beetle, in terms of mass and size, is comparable to an adult gerbil mouse, as you have already seen by looking at the photo above.

5. The largest spider (body weight up to 175 g)

Theraphosa Blonda or goliath tarantula is the largest spider in the world, native to the rainforests of South America. Considering the legs, the body length of the goliath tarantula can reach up to 28 cm, and weight up to 175 g. The life expectancy of female giant spiders in the wild is up to 25 years, and puberty occurs at 3 years. Males were less fortunate, despite the fact that they are not eaten by the female after the act of mating, like other types of spiders, their life expectancy is much shorter - from 3 to 6 years.

6. The largest worm (average length 60-90 cm)

If you have a strong dislike for worms, then you may be alarmed by the fact that there are more than half a dozen species of giant worms - the largest of which is the African giant worm, up to 1.5 m long. Despite being comparable to the average snake, giant earthworms are so as harmless as their little cousins. They like to burrow deep into the mud, stay away from humans (and other animals), quietly eating rotten leaves and other decaying organic matter.

7. The largest amphibian (body weight up to 3 kg)

"Goliath" is a popular name for the largest fauna of its kind (see #4 and #5). The goliath frog lives in west-central Africa. The average weight of a goliath frog is about 2.5 kg, which is much less than the mass Beelzebufo ampinga(about 5 kg) - the largest frog that lived on Earth during the late Cretaceous period.

8. The largest arthropod (3-4 m including legs)

The Japanese spider crab is truly a huge and extremely long-legged animal. The front legs of this representative of arthropods reach a length of up to 2 m, and the body is up to 45 cm. The motley, orange-white color of the exoskeleton serves as an excellent disguise from large marine predators. Like most strange creatures, the Japanese spider crab is a prized delicacy in Japan, but has recently been rarely seen on restaurant menus due to pressure from conservationists.

9. The largest flowering plant (diameter up to 1 m)

Luckily for all of us, Rafflesia Arnold's habitat is limited to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. You definitely won't meet her in the neighbor's garden. :)

10. The largest sponge on the planet (up to 2 m in diameter)

Except that giant sea sponge (Xestospongia muta) the largest of its kind, it holds the record for the longest lifespan among invertebrates, with some individuals living over 1,000 years. Like other types of sponges, xestospongia muta It feeds by filtering small organisms from seawater.

11. The largest jellyfish (up to 37 m in length)

With a dome diameter of about 2 m and tentacles over 30 m, hairy cyanoea is comparable in length to a blue whale (see item #22). Despite such a gigantic size, the tentacles of these jellyfish do not pose a mortal danger to humans (only pain and a rash on the skin). The hairy cyanide also serves an important ecological function, providing various types of fish and crustaceans with shelter under a huge dome.

Interestingly, the hairy cyanide is a favorite food source for the other giant on this list, the leatherback turtle (see #17)

12. The largest flying bird (adult males weigh up to 20 kg)

Considering the huge (by the standards of birds) body weight - up to 20 kg, the African great bustard goes against the laws of aerodynamics. It is not the most graceful bird in the world when it comes to flight. In fact, the African great bustard spends a significant part of its life on land in southern Africa, clucking loudly and devouring almost everything that moves. She uses flight only in cases of extreme danger.

In this respect, the African great bustard is no different from the even larger pterosaurs, the flying reptiles of the Mesozoic era.

13. The largest representative of protists (over 45 m in length)

Many people mistakenly believe that there are only four categories of life - bacteria, plants, fungi and animals - but let's not forget primitive eukaryotic organisms such as chromists. Most likely you will be surprised by the fact that all algae are protists. The largest representative of protists is Macrocystis pyrifera- a type of brown algae from the family Laminaria, which is able to grow more than 45 m in length, providing a reliable refuge for many marine organisms.

14. The largest non-flying bird (up to 270 cm in height and weighing up to 156 kg)

If taken globally, then the ostrich is not only the largest non-flying bird, but in general the largest bird living on Earth today. The maximum recorded height of an ostrich is 2.7 m and a mass of 156 kg. It may seem incredible, but relatively recently (about 200-300 years ago) on the island of Madagascar, a bird species lived - the Madagascar epiornis, in comparison with which an ostrich would seem like a chicken. These birds could reach 3-5 m in height and up to 500 kg in weight, which is comparable to the size of birds of the Dromornis genus that lived on the planet during the Late Miocene.

15. The largest snake (weight - 97.5 kg)

Compared to other organisms on this list, size classification of snakes is much more difficult. Even professional naturalists tend to overestimate the size of the snakes they have observed in the wild, since it is almost impossible to transport large specimens for detailed study. At the same time, most scientists agree that the anaconda is the largest snake on the planet. The largest anaconda caught was 521 cm long and weighed 97.5 kg.

16. The largest representative of bivalves (over 200 kg)

The giant tridacna is the largest bivalve species found in the waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. The maximum weight of the giant tridacnana is more than 200 kg, and the shell length can exceed 1 m. Despite its formidable reputation, the giant mollusk closes its shell only in case of danger, and its size is not enough to swallow an adult.

17. The largest turtle (weight over 500 kg)

The leatherback turtle is a large species of sea turtle that lives in tropical latitudes. These turtles are strikingly different from their relatives. The leatherback turtle shell is made up of small bony plates and is not attached to the skeleton as in other species. In addition to the body structure, a distinctive feature of leatherback turtles is their gigantic size - the mass of an adult can exceed 500 kg.

18. The largest reptile (weight up to 1000 kg)

By the standards of dinosaurs, when the largest reptile weighed 100 tons, the combed crocodile is just a small lizard. However, in the world of modern reptiles, these crocodiles are real giants. The body length of an adult saltwater crocodile varies from 3.5 to 6 m, and its weight is from 200 to 1000 kg.

19. Largest fish (maximum weight 2235 kg)

The peculiar appearance of the common sunfish makes it one of the strangest inhabitants of the ocean. But these fish are known not only for their eccentric appearance, but also for their gigantic size. The record of the caught specimens of an ordinary sunfish, had a length of 4.26 m and a mass of 2235 kg.

20. The largest land mammal (average weight 5 tons)

A mammal from the genus of African elephants, as well as the largest land animal. The average weight of a female is 3 tons, and a male - 6 tons. An adult bush elephant is able to eat about 200 kg of vegetation daily and drink up to 200 liters of water.

21. The largest shark (over 12 m in length)

Oddly enough, but the largest animals in the world's oceans usually feed on microscopic organisms. Like the blue whale (see next paragraph), the whale shark's diet consists primarily of plankton, small squid and fish. As for the size of the whale shark, it is not possible to give exact numbers here. There are various sources claiming that caught giant individuals over 20 m in length and weighing up to 40 tons. Given the tendency of many fishermen to exaggerate, one cannot be 100% sure of these data. Apparently, the more real size of the whale shark is 12-14 m in length.

22. The largest marine animal (200 tons)

In fact, the blue whale is not only the largest marine animal, but apparently the largest animal in the history of life on Earth, dinosaurs or other reptiles weighing 200 tons are not yet known to science. Like the whale shark (see previous paragraph), The blue whale feeds on microscopic plankton, filtering countless gallons of sea water through the dense plates of whalebone. Natural scientists estimate that an adult blue whale consumes 3-4 tons of krill every day.

23. The largest mushroom (600 tons)

Perhaps, in your understanding, the largest mushroom has a stem as thick as a post and a hat the size of the roof of a house, but in reality everything looks different. The record holder mushroom, or rather a colony of mushrooms, which has a common mycelium and functions as a single organism, is located in the forests of Oregon, USA and belongs to the genus honey agaric. The colony covers an area of ​​2000 acres and has a total mass of about 600 tons. The age of the giant mushroom, according to botanists, is more than 2400 years.

24. The largest single tree (about 1000 tons)

The giant sequoia is a tree, truly gigantic in size. The height of the trunk of a giant sequoia reaches 100 m, with a diameter of 10-12 m, and the estimated mass of the largest trees is about 1000 tons. They also belong to the most ancient organisms on the planet, the rings of one tree in the Northwest of the United States indicated an age of 3500 years.

25. Largest tree colony (6000 tons)

Like a colony of fungi (see item 23), the largest colony of Aspen poplar "Pando", located in Utah, USA, has a common root system and the same genes. Simply put, all the trees in the colony are clones descended from a common ancestor about 80,000 years ago. Unfortunately, at present, Pando is in a bad state, slowly fading away from drought, disease and insect infestation. Botanists are desperate to fix the problem, so hopefully this colony can thrive for at least another 80,000 years.

Remember the gnome who sat on the fly agaric hat. He so often becomes the hero of fairy tales in some Western countries. His decorative sculptures adorn many parks and attractions in the world.

Mushrooms are very interesting for housewives who create culinary masterpieces. They are of particular interest to a certain category of young people addicted to hallucinogens.

Yes, for many it is not easy to pass by even just the image of an unusual specimen of a giant mushroom found by someone.

And when you are going to the forest for mushrooms, you hope that you will come across such an unusual find, a really huge mushroom, even a giant. But usually you pick up the most common boletus, mushrooms, milk mushrooms, waves and other forest beauties. And someone is much more lucky. And then the find becomes the subject of active discussion for a long time and inspires hope in subsequent mushroom pickers that such luck awaits them.

By the way, giant mushrooms are not at all an anomaly, as biologists believe, and most of them are edible. And they are found in various parts of the world.

Armillaria ostoyae (honey mushroom)

He was found in the relict forests of the United States. It belongs to the largest creatures living on the planet. Its largest part settled underground, leaving only small mushrooms, macromycetes, honey mushrooms above, any of which can easily fit even in the hand. But its mycelium is a single organism and is conveniently located on 880 hectares in the Oregon National Park. This is a real monster.

For about two and a half thousand years, it grew, destroyed the roots of trees on the way, and has now reached a weight of more than 600 kilograms. Only now hardly anyone can cook soup from it. One such giant was first reported to the general public in 1992 by the New York Times.

This giant tinder fungus, almost eleven meters high and with a hat width of 82-88 centimeters, was found in China. Similar outstanding representatives of the mushroom kingdom have been found here since 2007 more than once. But a half-ton giant like this one did not come across until 2010. Yes, and they discovered it by chance during the study of tree mushrooms in the forests of Hainan Island, because for about 20 years it grew underground and went unnoticed for a long time.

During an ordinary walk along the forest paths, this 26-kilogram handsome man, who also became a fashion model, caught the eye of the inhabitants of Canada.

It was discovered in 2007 in Mexico among coffee trees, a specimen weighing 20 kilograms and almost 70 centimeters tall. And two years earlier, a similar giant of only 28 kilograms was found on a coffee plantation in the United States. They are also called giant rows and ten-kilogram specimens surprise few people.

Macromycetes from China

This giant of 15 kilograms was also of an unusual shape, as if on its only leg there was a whole hundred small mushroom caps, up to a meter in diameter. The type of this fungal organism, so eccentric, has not yet been determined.

This giant, weighing 14 kilograms, was carried by a lucky mushroom picker from Italy on his shoulder with great difficulty. If not for the car, it is not known how he would have got home. Doubly lucky. The fungus turned out to be even edible, and in order to eat it, I had to call the neighbors for help.

Was found in the Perm region. Half-meter handsome, hat in 1.72 meters diameter. He weighed more than 12 kilograms, but they say that they met more, almost 20 kilograms. Of course, the mushroom is edible, but it has served science, since it is no longer young and not as tasty as those that are much younger. By the way, this is the largest mushroom found in Russia. And it is absolutely known that in the previous mushroom season nothing grew in this place. And in 2011, this giant grew up among brothers, the same raincoats, which were only slightly smaller than him in size.

Porcini

Once, Moscow Radio reported live on a completely unusual find that can amaze the imagination and arouse the envy of any mushroom picker, even the most experienced one. This delicacy miracle weighed almost eleven kilograms, and the diameter of its hat reached almost 60 centimeters. It is a pity that there is no information about the place of discovery, only the year 1961 is known. But one thing is clear for sure. For a mushroom picker, such a find is true happiness. Everyone knows about the nutritional benefits of mushrooms, here it will leave behind any edible mushroom that is known to man. And because of this, such a find becomes even more valuable.

So in China they call varnished tinder fungus, a huge specimen of which weighs seven and a half kilograms and has a diameter of more than a meter was discovered in Hezhou. A real find for Chinese medicine. It is not in vain that he received the name "mushroom of immortality" for his remarkable ability to increase immunity and has been actively used for more than two thousand years.

This find in the south of Italy can be considered the most expensive mushroom. If the owner had sold this unique seven-kilogram handsome man, he would have earned a lot, because there are no more mushrooms in the world than truffles. But the family enjoyed the fried yummy with pleasure.

In certain areas of the country, specially trained dogs search for the white truffle, the rarest and most coveted food ingredient in the world, and only for the last three months of the year. And from time to time there are giants up to two kilograms in weight, most often sold at auctions and tens of thousands of dollars are paid for them.

He was found in the Tomsk region. A 28 cm leg held a giant's hat 36 cm in diameter. And he weighed 2.4 kilograms. And with such his parameters, he was not even wormy.

He grew up in the garden, where his mistress discovered him when the rainy season ended. Handsome, a little over two kilograms in weight and with a hat reaching 46 centimeters in diameter. In general, it is enough just to touch such a mushroom so that it breaks down and stops growing.

And yet, mushrooms of truly impressive size are quite rare. And then the lucky one will notify the world about such luck.

06.04.2019

Individual work with the Philosopher, 2019

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Anyone can participate in this direction of the Center's work.
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30.09.2017

Seeking help from the "Practical Esoteric Healing" group.

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3 largest myceliums in the world

More on the topic, film

Fungi reproduce by spores.

Spores are a kind of seeds of mushrooms, when they get into favorable conditions, they germinate and a mycelium is formed from them.

Mycelium, or mycelium, is the vegetative body of fungi that grows in the forest floor. It is from the mycelium that the very mushrooms that 50% of Russians love to pick in the forest grow. They are, depending on the species, annuals. But for me it was a real discovery that the mushrooms themselves, like other mushrooms that we collect in the forest, are only fruiting bodies of real mushroom mushrooms located underground. Mycelium-mushrooms can grow and bear fruit for more than one year in a row, and grow over vast areas.

Third place in the world is occupied by the mycelium of the honey agaric Armillaria ostoyae, found in the Swiss National Park, near the mountain pass of Ofen. The age of the mycelium is approximately 1000 years, and it extends over an area of ​​35 hectares. At the moment, it is the largest mushroom found in Europe.

Second place belongs to the mushroom, discovered in 1992 in the state of Washington. Its area, at the time of opening, was 600 hectares.

First place occupied, discovered in the United States in 2000, the honey agaric, which is considered to be the largest organism in the world. Its age is more than 2400 years! It was discovered in the state of Oregon, when scientists decided to find out the cause of the catastrophic death of trees in one of the sections of the reserve. Studies have shown that the fungus covers an area of ​​880 hectares and goes underground for more than a meter.

Found the world's largest "mushroom" - USA

This find was reported in the journal Forest Research. "The fact that an organism like this has been growing in a forest for thousands of years really expands our view of the forest ecosystem and how it works," said Dr. Katherine Parks, who led the study.

The researchers discovered this giant mushroom in the Malheur National Park, which covers an area of ​​​​590 thousand hectares and consists of highland fields, pine forests and mountain lakes. This territory lies at an altitude of 1200-2750 m above sea level.

A single organism of such a large size has led to a new understanding of the role of fungi in forest ecology. It used to be believed that mushrooms like honey agaric grew in groups within the forest, visible from the air as ring zones of dead trees. But when the researchers collected mushroom samples from an area of ​​9.65 square kilometers throughout the Oregon forest, during the test it turned out that they were samples of the same mushroom. Scientists have estimated its age in the range from 2000 to 8500 years.

"It's a single organism that started out as a microscopic spore and then spread like a plant," said Parks. "If you could remove all the soil and look at what's left, then we'd only see one big pile of a single fungus with all its mycelium filaments that permeate all the soil below the surface."

That is why mushrooms are called a monster - during this time, the mycelium captured 800 hectares of Malheur National Park, located in eastern Oregon.

The “tentacles” of the giant honey fungus mycelium are located underground at a depth of about one meter and occupy an area the size of which is comparable to 1,665 thousand football fields.

Scientists now believe that the fungus is part of a natural cycle of tree renewal and decline within forests and that it is often present in areas with little tree damage.