the.com/fungal mat
the internet was online underground long before we plugged anything in.
means A dense, interwoven layer of fungal threads (mycelium) spreading through soil, wood, or other material, forming a continuous living network.
from "Fungal" comes from Latin fungus, meaning mushroom, possibly borrowed from or related to Greek sphongos, "sponge" — fitting for something so soft and porous. "Mat" is an old Germanic word for a woven floor-covering, related to Latin matta (a mat of reeds). Put together, the phrase is plain modern scientific description: a literal mat woven not from reeds but from countless threads of mycelium.
- world's largest
- one Oregon fungus spans 2,385 acres
- oldest organism
- that same mat may be 8,000 years old
- wood wide web
- trees trade sugar and warnings through it
- hidden mass
- most of a fungus lives unseen below
- single weight
- can outweigh several blue whales
armillaria ostoyae — oregon honey fungus colony spanning 2,384 acres in malheur national forest, largest organism by area on earth
humongous fungus — common name for the armillaria ostoyae specimen, discovered 1998, weighs estimated 400 tons