The Largest Living Organism is a Fungus!
Beneath the soil of the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon, a fungus that has been slowly weaving its way through the roots of the trees for centuries has become the largest living organism ever found.
Madeleine Wyke
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January 1, 2001
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Armillaria ostoyae. © Fern (CC-BY-NC) (inaturalist.org, obs. 249114389)
The Armillaria ostoyae, popularly known as the honey mushroom, started from a single spore and has been spreading its filaments through the forest for an estimated 2,400 years, killing trees as it grows. It now covers 2,200 acres.
The outline of the giant fungus stretches 3.5 miles across, and it extends an average of 3 feet into the ground. It covers an area as big as 1,665 football fields. No one has estimated its weight.
On the surface the only evidence of the fungus are clumps of golden edible mushrooms that pop up in the fall with the rain.