A fungus called honey mushroom lives by killing trees in forests around the world. It feeds on weak plants, sucking nutrients from them and then devouring their remains. Given its unhealthy tree-based diet, scientists point out that its abnormal growth may be an indication that our planet’s health is not at its peak either.
The Humongous Fungi
The Honey Mushroom spreads underground and feeds on the trees around (Source: Science / Reproduction)
Even though there are several individuals of this fungus species very successful in other places, when it comes to size, the specimen found in the forests of the US state of Oregon is the champion. Considered the largest living organism on the planet, the fungus dubbed “humongous fungus” occupies an area of 2,384 acres of land, which is equivalent to 10 km². That is, it surpasses even the size of the largest animal on the planet, which is the blue whale.
It is estimated that this fungus has been growing on our planet for at least 2,400 years, but it is It is possible that this time is even longer, reaching more than 8 thousand years. The discovery of this very peculiar individual happened in 1998, when a team of researchers compared samples from the same area to see if they merged, thus demonstrating that it was the same individual, the result was positive, that is, it was even the largest organism. alive on the planet.
A very efficient parasite
)Extreme weather can affect the dynamics between the fungus and the trees (Source: Shutterstock / Reproduction)
This species of fungus is a problem wherever it appears, as it spreads underground and digs into trees, turning their interior into porridge. Because they live underground, they absorb minerals from the earth and turn them into weapons. In addition, they are resistant to most fungicides. Its structures can still lie dormant in the ground for decades, waiting for the neighboring tree to become weak enough.
All this efficiency in devouring tree feasts makes this fungus a candidate to withstand the extreme weather events that scientists predict for our future. That’s because droughts, criminal forest fires and the decrease in plant biodiversity caused by humanity cause trees to weaken, which is all the “monster fungus” needs to grow.
For the scientist Ariel Cowan, the fact that the fungus has reached this impressive size is already a symptom of a bigger problem. If human intervention were not so problematic, the ecosystem would not be messed up and the balance between the birth and death of trees would leave the humongous with a less bountiful diet.
