Guinness World Records 2018

Fungi

EARTH

MOST EXPENSIVE

FUNGUS

The edible white

truffle (Tuber

magnatum pico) is

the world’s priciest

fungus, commanding

up to $3,000 (£2,431)

per kg. It is found

only in the Italian

regions of Piedmont,

Emilia-Romagna,

Tuscany and Marche,

and the Istrian

peninsula of Croatia.

Because this truffle

grows around 30 cm

(1 ft) underground, it

can only be located

with the help of pigs

or trained dogs.

Approximately 50% of mushrooms are inedible; 25% are

tasteless; 20% cause sickness; 4% are tasty; and 1% can kill you.

The air we

breathe contains

c. 10,000

fungal spores

per cubic

metre 70%

Earliest lichen

The lichen Winfrenatia evolved approximately

400 million years ago, in the early Devonian

period. Some of its fossilized remains were

found in the Rhynie Chert – a sedimentary

deposit containing exceptionally well-

preserved plant, fungus, lichen and animal

material. The site is named after the nearby

village of Rhynie in Aberdeenshire, UK.

Tallest fungus

Prototaxites was a prehistoric fungus dating

from the late Silurian to the late Devonian

periods (420 to 370 million years ago). This

terrestrial North American life-form produced

relatively massive tree-trunk-like structures

that grew to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) wide and 8 m

(26 ft 2 in) in height – taller than a giraffe.

These trunks were composed of numerous

interwoven tubes, each of which was no more

than 50 μm (micrometres) across. Its dimensions

also mean that Prototaxites was by far the tallest

organism of any kind known to have existed

during that particular time period.

Heaviest single fungus

On 2 Apr 1992, a single living clonal growth

of the soil fungus Armillaria bulbosa was

reported to be covering some 15 ha (37 acres)

of forest in Michigan, USA. It was calculated

to weigh more than 100 tonnes (220,462 lb)

• or around 30 hippos. The fungus is thought
  to have begun at least 1,500 years ago, from
  one fertilized spore.

Most sexes within one species

In some fungi, two different genes yield two

different sexes – male and female – as with

Q: What percentage of a

mushroom is water?

A: Around 90%

LARGEST PHYLUM OF FUNGI

The most extensive of the seven phyla (highest

taxonomic groups) of fungi is Ascomycota, or

“sac fungi”. It contains more than 64,000 species

known to science, although many as-yet-

undiscovered species are thought to exist. Shown

here, clockwise from top left, are four colourful

Ascomycota species: scarlet elfcup (Sarcoscypha

austriaca), green elfcup (Chlorociboria

aeruginascens), cup fungi (Cookeina sp.) and

devil’s matchstick (Cladonia floerkeana).

Gills

Cap

Margin (edge)

Scales

Ring (annulus)

Stem (stipe/stalk)

Volva (base or bulb)

Fungi are key

to the industrial

processing of

10 of the 20

most profitable

medicines

Percentage of

the population

suffering from

Tinea pedis –

aka athlete’s

foot – the world’s

most common

skin infection

FASTEST-ACCELERATING ORGANISM

The hat-throwing fungus (Pilobolus

crystallinus) is native to Eurasia, North America

and Australia. Its asexual fruiting structure

(the sporangiophore) is a stalk that resembles

a tiny translucent snake, bearing at one end a

sporangium, or sac of spores. When it is mature,

a huge increase in internal pressure causes

the sporangiophore to “throw” its hat-shaped

sporangium with an acceleration of 0–20 km/h

(0–12.4 mph) in only 2 μs (microseconds),

subjecting it to a force of more than 20,000 g.

This is a greater rate of acceleration than that

of a speeding bullet, the equivalent of a human

being launched at 100 times the speed of sound.

WHAT IS

A MUSHROOM?

Mushrooms fulfil the

same purpose for a

fungus as fruits and

flowers do for plants:

they help the organism

to germinate. Each

mushroom produces

microscopic spores,

which are rather like

seeds or pollen. Some

species may produce

trillions of these tiny

reproductive units.