General Sherman

General Questions
#1

…The Tree! Civil War buffs can move on.

My wife and I just recently spent three wonderful days in the Sequoia Nat. Forest. One of our stops was General Sherman, a 180 foot Sequoia redwood with a trunk as wide as my house. The plaque stated that it was “The Largest Living Thing on Earth”(by Volume). Not at all hard to believe when looking at this monster. However, I recall hearing a report a few years ago about a recently discovered subterrainian fungus that was thought to be several square miles in area. Anyone got any info on this monster mushroom? Does it outrank the General?

#2

PB –
I recall the same, or similar, article. I think scientists discounted the “'shroom on 'roids” because they said it was a colony of smaller organisms massed together.
My humble apologies are offered for I have no cite. Just my trembling, mis-firing synapes.

#3

I thought it was the aspen trees in Colorado with a shared root system. I’ve actually seen entire mountain ranges of almost entirely aspen trees, so I figured it could be true.

"No job’s too small, we bomb them all."
-Ace Wrecking Company

#4

Here is a list of plant achievements:

http://daphne.palomar.edu/wayne/ww0601.htm

As far as the Humungous Fungus goes, I’m not sure you can believe whatever Upper Peninsulans will tell you, but here’s a sample:

http://www.wmqt.com/wmqt/great/story4.htm

They have trouble with trolls there too. . .and fungus on the brain.

Well, I guess this is the reality of it (search page for ‘fungus’):

http://www.tcoinc.com/slides/

. . .if you can stand a bit of MIDI music.

Ray (fenny feedy fungi)

#5

From an article in Discover Magazine, October 1993,

You can try going to www.discover.com , then to archive, and then request the article titled: The Trembling Giant.