The largest mushrooms
Mushrooms are unique organisms that combine the characteristics of flora and fauna. They differ from plants in that they are not able to form oxygen molecules, and from animals - in their inability (with a few exceptions) to move and in physiological characteristics. The largest mushrooms are admired by people all over the world.
The largest mushrooms
general information
Today man knows more than one hundred thousand species of these organisms. A certain percentage of them brings a lot of benefit to a person. Therefore, in all corners of the planet - in the USA and Russia, in Australia and Brazil - the edible mushroom is the basis of a variety of dishes. The product is used in the following areas:
- Food industry: winemaking, production of fermented milk products, bakery and confectionery.
- Medical industry: Penicillin is produced from mushrooms. as well as other medications and antibiotics.
They are partially used in veterinary medicine as a medicine, and also as a raw material for obtaining medicines.
Unique characteristics
Giant mushrooms, like all others, grow as a collection of cells gathering in a thread of myceliums.
As soon as this system matures, it creates a pressure of 700-750 t / m². In fungi, filaments (hyphae) perform the function of the gastrointestinal tract. In the body of fungi there are special enzymes - enzymes that they release to break down large food molecules and consume the necessary substances.
Top Giant Mushrooms
Biologists point out that finding a huge mushroom is not so difficult.
The size of the mushroom depends on the growing conditions
Some representatives reach large sizes only due to good conditions for their development. The media are actively promoting this topic. Therefore, lists appeared that unite the largest mushrooms in the world:
- 10th place: is occupied by his raincoat mushroom, clearly not the largest when compared to the rest, but in the UK he is a 100% favorite. He was found by a young gardener. The mass of the fruiting body is 2 kg, the cap is 46 cm in diameter.
- 9th place: boletus found in Russia in the Tomsk region. Boletus is a contender for the title of the largest edible mushroom. It differs not only in a hat with a diameter of 36 cm and a weight of 2.4 kg, but also in its color. This specimen, found in Russia, has brown legs and a hat.
- 8th place: lingzhi mushroom, or reishi. In Russia and the CIS countries it is known as varnished tinder fungus. The largest mushroom in China is lingzhi. Its weight: 7.5 kg, a hat measuring 1 m 7 cm. Lingzhi are unique in that they are actively used in folk medicine. These organisms contain polysaccharides that increase the dynamism of blood cells, thereby increasing the parameters of immunity. In addition, it is characterized by hepatoprotective, anti-allergenic and antioxidant effects. Found a mushroom in the provincial city of Hezhou.
- 7th place: a raincoat from Russia, found by a resident of the Perm Territory in the fall of 2011. This is a large mushroom with a cap diameter of 172 cm, a leg of 50 cm and a mass of 12 kg. This type of mushroom is suitable for human consumption, therefore it was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest edible mushroom in the world.
- 6th place: an Italian champignon found in the province of Baria. Its weight is 14 kg. The finder could not carry it in his hands, so he had to use a car to take the find with a big hat to the village. The champignon turned out to be edible.
- 5th place: Chinese macromycete. Another representative, surprising with its parameters. It is distinguished by its non-standard shape (many small caps on one leg) and its size. The diameter of the cap is about 100 cm, the weight is 15 kg. Scientists have not yet been able to classify it, but it rightfully ranks on the list of the largest mushrooms in the world.
- 4th place: macromycete titanium. These huge mushrooms are known for their unique characteristics. In the United States, two such specimens have been discovered, claiming to be the largest mushroom on the planet. The first was found in 2005 in one of the coffee fields. He weighed 28 kg. The second applicant was found in 2007, his weight was 20 kg, the height of the leg was 70 cm.
- 3rd place: Canadian macromycete. He, like the rest of this species, is distinguished by its enormous size. A huge raincoat weighing 26 kg was found by a local resident during a family walk in the forest. This surprised people so much that they called the mushroom the largest on earth.
- 2nd place: Chinese Fomitiporia ellipsoidea, one of the species of polypores. A huge mushroom was found on the island. Hainan. Hat with a diameter of 88 cm, height - 10.8 m, weight - 5 c. There are few plants on earth that can match it. The volume was 400-525 cm³. The peculiarity of this organism is that it develops not outside, but underground.
- 1st place: rightfully occupies the largest mushroom in the world native to the forests of the United States. This living organism belongs to the Armilaria family, whose representatives are distinguished by their impressive parameters. Most of it was out of human sight. Armillaria ostoyae are macromycetes also known as honey fungus. The mycelium is a single organism. It covers an area of 880 hectares in the Oregon State National Park. The hyphae Armillaria ostoyae sprouted on an area equal to almost 1,700 football fields, so this organism is deservedly called the largest mushroom on the planet.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
In addition to the "Oregon Monster" mushroom, there are several other such mycelium-giants, which really fit the name "monster":
- Switzerland, national park near the Ofen pass: dark honey fungus (Armillaria ostoyae) formed a mycelium with an area of about 35 hectares. Age is at least 1000 years. The mycelium is the oldest in Europe.
- USA, Washington State: in 1992, mycelium was accidentally discovered during research work, according to scientists, it occupies an area of about 600 hectares.
American scientists now face an urgent problem - to learn how to control the growth of the mycelium of the dark mushroom (honey), so that it does not destroy huge forests. Given its millennia of natural growth, this could pose a threat to the Oregon forest ecosystem.
Many are interested in whether it is possible to eat the world's largest mushroom? Researchers from the United States say that it is possible to eat it (especially since the fruit bodies are of normal size, but the mycelium is huge). And although the mushroom is called honey (or dark), it is better to eat it with a lot of garlic and butter.
Conclusion
Fungi are an amazing class of living organisms that exist on the planet. It has not been fully studied, so every year the list of giant mushrooms, in which the macromycete of the Armillaria family, the world's largest mushroom, changes and is supplemented by new representatives.
