[ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2004 06:45:15 AM ]
BIRMENSDORF : Swiss scientists have discovered what they think may be the biggest mushroom in Europe, a monster fungus the length of eight football pitches and mostly lurking underground. The mushroom, which covers a whopping 35 hectares (86 acres) area in a Swiss national park near the eastern town of Ofenpass is thought to be more than 1,000 years old, forestry experts say.
The mushroom, which is 800 metres (yards) long and 500 metres wide, is of the armillaria type, according to the Swiss Federal Institute Forest, Snow and Countryside Research (WSL). It consists of a vast network of sometimes very thick filaments which reach out along the path of tree roots in the mountainous, wooded region.
The visible parts of the mushroom that poke out above the ground or on the boughs of trees are the tip of the iceberg, representing a tiny part of the vast undersoil organism. Some species within the family are formidable parasites which invade trees, gradually strangling them.
They have been blamed for the widespread destruction of pines within the national park, a WSL statement said. One reason why the fungus may have survived for so long undetected and untroubled is that it is only edible when young, and even then is not a favourite with lovers of mushrooms.
that's one heck of a shroom