Mondo Knows Facts
The largest single organism may be a fungus
One Armillaria network in Oregon covers nearly ten square kilometres
A honey fungus of the species Armillaria ostoyae in Malheur National Forest spreads through roots and soil as a connected network of filaments. Genetic testing showed that a vast area of dying trees was attacked by one individual, estimated to cover about 9.6 square kilometres. Age estimates run into the thousands of years.
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Tags: fungi, oregon, forest
The largest single organism may be a fungus: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- One Armillaria network in Oregon covers nearly ten square kilometres. The figure is taken from USDA Forest Service, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a records & extremes fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.