The giant honey mushroom, found in the Yunnan province of China, weighs 33 pounds, according to Science World Report.
Reports surfaced that locals discovered a fungus that just might be the biggest on record. The giant honey mushroom measures 36 inches in diameter, has nearly 100 caps attached to its stem and is a light gray color, but the exact species is yet to be determined. It may be an edible honey mushroom (Armillaria ostoyae) which started from a single spore too small to see without a microscope. Armillaria ostoyae has been scattering rhizomorphs through the forest for an estimated 2,400 years, killing trees as it grows.
Known for its variety of mushroom species, "Mushroom Kingdom of China" yields more than 250 edible varieties including termite mushrooms (which grow inside termite nests), white jelly mushrooms, greenhead mushrooms and ganbajun mushrooms. The province boasts over 600 species of fungi. The Yunnan province accomplishes to make millions of dollars a year based on being able to make that merit.
The mushroom is certainly large, but not a record-breaker.
Last year, a Canadian man named Christian Therrien discovered an inedible mushroom that weighed 57.4 pounds. The world's largest mushroom was found in 1998 by Catherine Parks, a scientist at the Pacific Northwest Research Station in La Grande, Oregon. She recognized the fungus through DNA testing. That giant honey mushroom grew to 2,384 acres and was approximately 2,400 years old.
Forest Service scientists are interested in learning to control Armillaria because it kills trees, Gregory Filip, associate professor of integrated forest protection at Oregon State University and an expert in Armillaria said, but they also realize the fungus has served a purpose in nature for millions of years.
The scientist must identify the species of mushroom weighing 33 pounds. They must find out if it is edible or not.
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