# Biolog: Is there a single word or term subsuming all living organisms that aren't plants/animals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2018, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632 "2018-05-05T09:28:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/21 "2018-05-28T16:50:27Z")
> [@Steven\_Estes](#): > > So sorry. I could have saved a lot of hassle by better wording my question. Let’s try this. > “What is the point past which all larger living > entities are animals or plants”? > > The answer can’t be “microscopic” because some one-cell entities are neither plant nor animal, but are visible to the naked eye. > > So, perhaps, the answer is that all living entities larger than one-cell entities are animals or plants. > > But what about fungus and amoeba. > Well, if I am not mistaken (and I may well be), a single fungus or amoeba is smaller that a a one-cell entity. > > Thus, fungi and amoebas are not really answers to the question. (You don’t need numerous horses or tulips for a horse or tulip to be visible e to the naked eye.) > So, considering this, is it true that “all living entities larger than one-cell entities are animals or planes”? I’ve already answered this question, in post #15. Please read it. The answer is no. Individual kelp stalks, a Brown Alga, can be 60 m long. Brown Algae do not belong to the Plantae and are not technically plants. And the largest single organism on Earth is believed to be a [gigantic Honey Fungus in Oregon](http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141114-the-biggest-organism-in-the-world) that is over two miles wide. But even ordinary mushrooms are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye. These are regarded as single organisms. I have also mentioned amoebae that are several inches across and easily visible to the naked eye. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/22 "2018-05-28T17:01:16Z")
> [@Steven\_Estes](#): > > But what about fungus and amoeba. > Well, if I am not mistaken (and I may well be), a single fungus or amoeba is smaller that a a one-cell entity. Have you ever gone to the grocery store and saw a [mushroom with your naked eyes](https://egl364sbu.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/basic-mushrooms.jpg)? Or one of those [red mushrooms with white spots](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/2006-10-25_Amanita_muscaria_crop.jpg/1200px-2006-10-25_Amanita_muscaria_crop.jpg) that fairies sleep under? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/23 "2018-05-28T17:16:55Z")
sorry - wrong forum. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/24 "2018-05-28T17:23:25Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Have you ever gone to the grocery store and saw a [mushroom with your naked eyes](https://egl364sbu.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/basic-mushrooms.jpg)? Or one of those [red mushrooms with white spots](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/2006-10-25_Amanita_muscaria_crop.jpg/1200px-2006-10-25_Amanita_muscaria_crop.jpg) that fairies sleep under? And that’s just the above-ground part of the fungus. The vegetative part, the mycelium, is usually below ground or inside whatever the fungus is feeding on. Individual threads, or hyphae, are mostly microscopic, but the mycelium can be dense enough to be visible to the naked eye as well. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/25 "2018-05-28T20:03:02Z")
I’ve been suspecting for several of his posts now that Steve Estes does not know [what a fungus is](http://2il.org/worlds-biggest-mushroom/). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/26 "2018-05-28T20:15:24Z")
To summarize: There are multicellular animals (Animalia) and plants (Plantae) that are microscopic. There are multicellular non-animals/non-plants that are macroscopic (and in fact very large). There are unicellular plants (Plantae) that are microscopic. There are unicellular non-plants/non-animals that are macroscopic. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Estes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/27 "2018-05-29T08:38:23Z")
Finally, to the point of my question: Assuming that th largest mushroom is the largest living entity that is not animal or plant, what is the smallest animal or plant larger than the largest mushroom? (I,e., ALL living entities larger than this are either animals or plants.) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/28 "2018-05-29T10:40:35Z")
> [@Steven\_Estes](#): > > Finally, to the point of my question: > Assuming that th largest mushroom is the largest living entity that is not animal or plant, what is the smallest animal or plant larger than the largest mushroom? (I,e., ALL living entities larger than this are either animals or plants.) As has been pointed out, the mushroom on the surface is only the temporary reproductive body of a fungus, most of which is underground and invisible most of the time. But even if for a moment we allow that the reproductive body is “the” mushroom, the one in my link is said to weigh around 20 kg. So now you are asking if there is a term that covers plants and animals that are over 20 kg but nothing else? Really? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/29 "2018-05-29T10:45:03Z")
The term for all living entities larger than the largest fungus is “nothing”. There is no known living entity larger than that. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/30 "2018-05-29T15:00:16Z")
> [@Steven\_Estes](#): > > Finally, to the point of my question: > Assuming that th largest mushroom is the largest living entity that is not animal or plant, what is the smallest animal or plant larger than the largest mushroom? (I,e., ALL living entities larger than this are either animals or plants.) At this point, I have to question whether you are even reading the answers that have been provided, since this has already been answered. As I previously mentioned, the largest fungus is the largest known organism on Earth. The weight of such an organism is difficult to estimate, but it may be more than 600 tons, thus outweighing the largest blue whale three times. Even the [largest fungal fruiting body](https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-08/chinese-researchers-find-worlds-biggest-fungus) weighs more than half a ton, in the same ballpark as a cow. The largest fungus is far larger than any plant or animal that has ever existed. Even the largest fruiting body is heavier than probably 95% of all plants or animals. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/31 "2018-05-29T16:48:58Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Even the [largest fungal fruiting body](https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-08/chinese-researchers-find-worlds-biggest-fungus) weighs more than half a ton, in the same ballpark as a cow. I wanted to plant one of those in my garden but it took up too mushroom. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/32 "2018-05-29T17:32:53Z")
Since it’s on the table, are any of those humongous mushroom fruiting bodies safe or even tasty for us? ETA: Do animals besides us eat mushrooms? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/33 "2018-05-29T17:39:12Z")
> [@Steven\_Estes](#): > > Let me give this one a try. > Is it true that: > All living entities larger than > microscopic are animals or plants. > > Equivalent: > Only animals and plants are > living entities that are larger > than microscopic. > > At least these avoids the issue of there being some animals and plants that are microscopic. The above claims do not deny this.They say nothing about ALL animals and plants, but only about all living entities larger than microscopic. That there are microscopic animals and plants is irrelevant to these claims. > Are the claims true? > Many thanks > S.J. Estes “Florb”. The word you are looking for, that refers to all living organisms that aren’t plants/animals and aren’t microscopic is “Florb”. This is a well known fact that’s kept secret by biologists. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/34 "2018-05-29T17:42:03Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [Nummulites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nummulite) are gone, but their shells remain. Great idea! So from now on, we’ll call the THREE Kingdoms “Plants,” “Animals,” and “Nummulite Shells”… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/35 "2018-05-29T21:10:57Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Since it’s on the table, are any of those humongous mushroom fruiting bodies safe or even tasty for us? The half-ton one I linked to is hard and woody, so no. The gigantic fungus in Oregon is a Honey Mushroom. These are small mushrooms that are regarded as a delicacy, but they have to be cooked before eating to destroy some toxins. > [@](#): > > ETA: Do animals besides us eat mushrooms? Mushrooms are a favored food of many animals. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/36 "2018-05-29T22:55:55Z")
> [@Steven\_Estes](#): > > Finally, to the point of my question: > Assuming that th largest mushroom is the largest living entity that is not animal or plant, what is the smallest animal or plant larger than the largest mushroom? (I,e., ALL living entities larger than this are either animals or plants.) Where did you get this idea that fungi MUST be smaller than animals and plants? It is a rather strange notion to hold on to so dearly, against all evidence. Size does not determine the kingdom of an organism. Your initial assumption (that plants and animals are automatically bigger than other forms of life) is just wrong, unfortunately. What is it you’re actually trying to write? There’s probably a better factoid you could stick in its place. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Estes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/37 "2018-05-30T03:04:26Z")
Hey, I’m a city boy and knew nothing about there being 600-pound mushrooms. Had I known, I would never have asked my question. I had thought that the largest non-annal, non-plant was very small, so that the fact that the huge number of animals and plants larger than the largest non-animal, non-plant , making up all living entities larger than this small entity would be impressive. However, given the 600-pond mushroom fungus, it is only insignificantly true that “all” the larger than mushroom entities are animals or plants It’s a tiny number, so who cares. I apologize for wasting your time. Steven Estes ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/38 "2018-05-30T10:40:01Z")
> [@Steven\_Estes](#): > > However, given the 600-pond mushroom fungus, it is only insignificantly true that “all” the larger than mushroom entities are animals or plants It’s a tiny number, so who cares. Have you tried reading this thread? There are no plants or animals larger than the largest fungi. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/39 "2018-05-30T10:48:54Z")
> [@Steven\_Estes](#): > > I had thought that the largest non-annal, non-plant was very small, so that the fact that the huge number of animals and plants larger than the largest non-animal, non-plant , making up all living entities larger than this small entity would be impressive. If you want to really impress your audience, [diagram](https://www.wikihow.com/Diagram-Sentences) that sentence. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632/40 "2018-05-30T11:15:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The term for all living entities larger than the largest fungus is “nothing”. There is no known living entity larger than that. [Pando](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree)) might be a contender; although of course only a minor fraction of its estimated weight actually consists of living cells. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biolog-is-there-a-single-word-or-term-subsuming-all-living-organisms-that-arent-plants-animals/813632.md?page=3)