the.com/armillaria
A mushroom that is also, biologically, the largest organism on Earth.
means A genus of fungi — the honey mushroom among them — whose underground networks can spread for miles, quietly killing trees from the roots up while producing clusters of honey-colored caps above ground.
from From Latin armilla, meaning 'bracelet' or 'armband,' referring to the ring (annulus) left on the mushroom's stem where the veil once covered the gills — a small sartorial detail that gave its name to an organism later found to span thousands of acres underground.
- size record
- one Oregon specimen spans 2,385 acres
- actual age
- estimated 2,500 to 8,500 years old
- nickname
- called the humongous fungus
- hidden habit
- kills trees slowly via underground rhizomorphs