A)    It is the largest organism on Earth

Weird Science Image: honey-mushroomsThis sprawling 'shroom is nestled in 2,384 acres (965 hectares) of soil in Oregon 's Blue Mountains . Put another way, this humongous fungus would encompass 1,665 football fields, or nearly four square miles (10 square kilometers) of turf.

The discovery of this giant Armillaria ostoyae in 1998 heralded a new record holder for the title of the world's largest known organism, believed by most to be the 110-foot- (33.5-meter-) long, 200-ton blue whale. Based on its current growth rate, the fungus is estimated to be 2,400 years old but could be as ancient as 8,650 years, which would earn it a place among the oldest living organisms as well.

Well, at least it puts up a good fight for second place, see last week's Nature IQ!

Photo/Text Source: Strange but True: The Largest Organism on Earth Is A Fungus by Anne Casselman

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