Is that a really big fungus, or are you just happy to see me?

[snopes]

Comment: I found this guy when I google-imaged "big fungi." Is this for real? The image is from his website:

[Drama Queen Of Mars]

Just when I thought I had my mind out of the gutter...

Drama ~...someone had to go and drag me right back in.~ Queen

[para1]

Um, well, I...what I mean to say is that I...you know, I just thought that....oh, dear. Prince's symbollic phallic gesture during the Super Bowl is nothing compared to this.

That being said, exactly where can we find this fine growth?

[MidgardDragon]

I could be quite jaded by the internet age, and I have no professional training, but it looks like quite an obvious fakery to me. Could also just be the way the sunlight is hitting it, but the fungus doesn't look like it belong in that picture. *shrugs*

[FloridaGirl]

There are no words....

This is from his website-

Q. Is that fungus you're standing with in Vermont on your web page real?

Well, it's real *cement* --- does that count? It's a statue in a park overlooking Lake Champlain in Burlington VT. On the other side was sculpted a small elf. There's many layers of paint scraped off of the mushroom. I think it may have been painted in psychedelic colors during the 1960's and 70's. The largest fungal fruiting bodies known are much smaller than that, only about 300 lb. All the largest fruiting bodies are from perennial polypores, such as Bridgeoporus nobilissimus.

[wanderwoman]

Why would anybody google-image "big fungi"?

Am I being naive here? Stop laughing at me!

[ganzfeld]

This mushroom is often called the largest in the world:
‘Chikolowa’ (Termitomyces titanicus)
(Some fungi grow huge, covering acres. But they aren't really mushrooms.)
ETA - Here is the one Amused mentioned in the quote, from the same fun guy, Tom Volk:
Bridgeoporus nobilissimus

[Richard W]

Originally Posted by Amused

This is from his website-

Q. Is that fungus you're standing with in Vermont on your web page real?

Well, it's real *cement* --- does that count? It's a statue in a park overlooking Lake Champlain in Burlington VT. On the other side was sculpted a small elf. There's many layers of paint scraped off of the mushroom. I think it may have been painted in psychedelic colors during the 1960's and 70's. The largest fungal fruiting bodies known are much smaller than that, only about 300 lb. All the largest fruiting bodies are from perennial polypores, such as Bridgeoporus nobilissimus.

I was going to say - the light is fairly subtle and it would be hard to make it match on the different objects, so I would bet it was really in the picture but not a fungus. That makes sense.

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by wanderwoman

Why would anybody google-image "big fungi"?

Am I being naive here? Stop laughing at me!

I was wondering the same thing...

[OptimusShr]

What? You guys have never typed random words or phrases into Google image search for fun?

Originally Posted by wanderwoman

Why would anybody google-image "big fungi"?

Am I being naive here? Stop laughing at me!

Perhaps they were searching for a really tall clown to perform at a child's birthday party?

(big, fun guy...nevermind )

[KathyB]

There really is a fungus with the scientific name of Phallus impudicus. It was named for its fruiting body, which is, uh, life size or a bit bigger. The common name is "stinkhorn."



There is also an urban legend about the genus Phallus. Supposedly Mycologists A&B were feuding. Mycologist A (a woman) named a species of Phallus after the male Mycologist B because the fungus had an unusually small fruiting body.