The largest mushrooms and conks are the largest known individual fruit bodies. These are known as sporocarps, or, more specifically, basidiocarps and ascocarps for the Basidiomycota and Ascomycota respectively. These fruit bodies have a wide variety of morphologies, ranging from the typical mushroom shape, to brackets (conks), puffballs, cup fungi, stinkhorns, crusts and corals. Many species of fungi, including yeasts, moulds and the fungal component of lichens, do not form fruit bodies in this sense, but can form visible presences such as cankers. Individual fruit bodies need not be individual biological organisms, and extremely large single organisms can be made up of a great many fruit bodies connected by networks of mycelia (including the "humongous fungus", a single specimen of Armillaria solidipes) can cover a very large area.
The largest identified fungal fruit body in the world is a specimen of Phellinus ellipsoideus (formerly Fomitiporia ellipsoidea). The species was discovered in 2008 by Bao-Kai Cui and Yu-Cheng Dai in Fujian Province, China. In 2011, the two of them published details of extremely large fruit body of the species that they had found on Hainan Island. The specimen, which was 20 years old, was estimated to weigh between 400kgand500kgkg (900lband1,100lbkg). This was markedly larger than the previously largest recorded fungal fruit body, a specimen of Rigidoporus ulmarius found in the United Kingdom that had a circumference of 4250NaN0.
| Species and family | Distribution | Dimensions | Height | Weight | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phellinus ellipsoideus (formerly Fomitiporia ellipsoidea), Polyporaceae | Southern China | 10.85m (35.6feet) long by 84cm (33inches) broad by 5cm (02inches) thick.[1] [2] | Between 401.9kgand515.7kgkg (886lband1,136.9lbkg). | This species was discovered by science in 2008. | ||
| Rigidoporus ulmarius (formerly Polyporus actinobolus), Polyporaceae[3] | Western and Southern Europe. | At the Int'l. Mycological Inst. at Kew Gardens, London in 1996. 1.7m (05.6feet) wide by 1.47m (04.82feet) broad by 21cm (08inches) top to bottom.[4] [5] | 21cm (08inches) top to bottom. | 284.5kg (627.2lb) in 1998. | It perished after a family of foxes took residence beneath it.[6] | |
| Phellinus pachyphloeus (or Inonotus pachyphloeus), Polyporaceae | The Indian subcontinent. | A team headed by Manoj Kumar found a massive specimen of this species growing out of a Mango tree near Barotiwala, Dehra Dun, Uttar Pradesh, India which measured 4feet in width, 4feet in breadth and 22.5inches top to bottom.[7] [8] | 57cm (22inches) top to bottom. | Weight not stated, but certainly less than the Rigidoporus above. | The owner of the land said that it was about 22 years old. | |
| Bridgeoporus nobilissimus, Polyporaceae | western Washington state, western Oregon and northwestern California. | 1.42m (04.66feet) wide by 94cm (37inches) broad 91.5cm (36inches) top to bottom. | 91.5cm (36inches) top to bottom. | 300lbs. | Species discovered in 1949 by Sandoz brothers. Displayed in offices of Weyerhauser Lumber Co. for many years.[9] [10] | |
| Serpula lacrymans, Polyporaceae | Originally native to Himalayan foothills, but now of pan-temperate distribution. | 3.66m (12.01feet) wide by 4.57m (14.99feet) top to bottom. Thickness not stated. | 4.57m (14.99feet) top to bottom. | Weight not stated. | Found growing from an Oak beam in a tunnel in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England in 1858.[11] [12] [13] [14] It is commonly called the "House Fungus". | |
| Calvatia gigantea, Lycoperdaceae | Of cosmopolitan distribution. | One found in Herkimer County, New York in 1877 by Prof. R. Ellsworth Call was 1.63m (05.35feet) wide by 1.37m (04.49feet) broad by 24cm (09inches) high.[15] [16] The most voluminous found in recent times was one at Thunder Bay, Ontario along the banks of the Kaministiquia River found by Adrian Karasiewicz in the summer of 2016. It was 81inches in girth.[17] | 24cm (09inches) high. | Another, in Montreal, Quebec, found by Jean-Guy Richard in 1987, weighed 22kg (49lb),[18] and was 2.64m (08.66feet) in circumference [19] while another found in July 2012 by Christian Therrien of Sparwood, Canada claimed a weight of 25.9kg (57.1lb) which the accompanying photo seems to confirm.[20] | A large Puffball can produce up to seven quintillion (7,000,000,000,000,000,000) spores;[21] enough to dust all the world's dry land with 43,750 spores per square foot (per 30 cm X 30 cm). Still another puffball, found in 1857 by J. Dilwyn Llewelin near the coast of Glamorganshire, Wales measured 43inches long by 38inches wide and weighed 7.5lb.[22] | |
| Fomitiporea expansa, Hymenochaetaceae | Probably endemic to French Guiana and neighboring Suriname. | The type specimen measured over forty inches (over one meter) in width.[23] | Weight not stated. | This is a very recent discovered species; 2014. It was found near the Suriname border. | ||
| Chaga mushroom Inonotus obliquus Polyporaceae | Much of the Northern Hemisphere. This one in Quebec. | Circumference of 42abbr=offNaNabbr=off. | 78.2lb.[24] | Approximately 15 additional pounds (6.8 kilograms) was left on the host tree for regrowth, bringing the total weight to around 93lb. | ||
| Phlebopus marginatus, Boletaceae | Native to humid regions of Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java. | One found in South Australia prior to 1934 had a cap (pilea) 61cm (24inches) wide by 46cm (18inches) broad. | Same one (?) weighed 32.34kg (71.3lb)[25] | Another, at Hall's Gap, Victoria in 1939 weighed 28.6kg (63.1lb) but was 77.5cm (30.5inches) across the cap.[26] The broadest specimen in recent years was one found on the farm of Mary Phillips at an unspecified location in Australia. Assuming her hand to measure 3inches across the knuckles, the cap is 25inches wide across its longest axis.[27] The most massive (heaviest) in recent years may be one discovered by Pamela McIntyre of Digby, Victoria in July 2012, which was found to weigh forty-four pounds (twenty kilograms).[28] Called the "Giant Toadstool" in eastern Australia, and "Salmon Gum Mushroom" in Western Australia. Much of the literature is under the older name Boletus portentosus. | ||
| Ganoderma lucidum, Ganodermataceae | China. This one Guangxi Province. | Cap 107cm (42inches) wide. Stem short; only ±7 cm (±3 in) thick.[29] [30] | By one report 14.9kg (32.8lb) but by another 7.45kg (16.42lb). | Fruiting body of G. lucidum can be a conk or a mushroom, depending on the orientation of the substrate. | ||
| Sparassis crispa, Sparassidaceae | The mountains of Europe, always in pine forest. | One found in Mayres, France in October 2000. Dimensions not stated.[31] [32] | 28.8kg (63.5lb). | The Clavariaceae do not form caps. The spores are produced on stalagmite-like growths. | ||
| Grifola frondosa Polyporaceae | North Temperate Zone. | One found by Hank and John Biscan of Mount Olive, Illinois weighed 63lb.[33] | Called sheepshead mushroom. | |||
| Meripilus giganteus, Polyporaceae | Up to 3feet wide, usually accompanied by smaller ones.[34] | |||||
| Macrocybe titans, Tricholomataceae | Found from northern Florida to southern Brazil. An outlier was recently found in Athens, Georgia, USA. | One found in Chiapas State, Mexico in July 2007 measured 68.8cm (27.1inches) across the cap and also 68.8cm (27.1inches) in height. Another in Costa Rica measured 1m (03feet) in width.[35] [36] [37] | 68.8cm (27.1inches) in height. | The Chiapas specimen weighed 20kg (40lb). | This species was only discovered in 1980 (originally named Tricholoma titans). It was apparently not known to native peoples. That such a conspicuous and widespread species escaped notice for centuries constitutes a major anomaly. | |
| Macrocybe gigantea (formerly Tricholoma giganteum), Tricholomataceae | Native to China, India, Pakistan, and Nepal. | A cluster of 5 or 6 joined at the base was found in Tengchong County, Yünnan Province, China in 2017. The largest was apparently 83.5cm (32.9inches) in height while being 40cm (20inches) in width.[38] [39] | 83.5cm (32.9inches) in height | Weight not stated. | It was discovered by 81 year old Liu Dingsheng who states that it grew in only three days. An attempt was made to transplant the cluster to a safer location. Commonly called the Giant Mushroom. | |
| Bondarzewia berkeleyi, Bondarzewiaceae[40] | Eastern North America, Europe, China, New Zealand and New Guinea among other places. Nowhere is it common. | Subterranean tuber (sclerotium) produces from one to five funnel-shaped concentric caps sharing a common stalk. Total width up to 1m (03feet).[41] [42] | Tuber and funnels can total up to 22.7kg (50lb). | One found in Lawrence, Kansas in 2008 was 90cm (40inches) wide and weighed 6.8kg (15lb), but it is not clear whether the sclerotium was included.[43] B. berkeleyi is called "Stump Blossom" | ||
| Cerioporus squamosus, Polyporaceae | Cosmopolitan distribution. | One found by a Mr. Hopkirk at Dalbeth, Scotland in 1810 was 226cm (89inches) in circumference.[44] | It weighed 15.46kg (34.08lb). | . | ||
| Fomes fomentarius, Polyporaceae | Widespread in north temperate zone. | A specimen growing in France in 2008 measured 88cm (35inches) in width by 62cm (24inches) top to bottom.[45] | 62cm (24inches) top to bottom. | Weight not stated. | Formerly used as tender for flintlock rifles, and in medicine to control bleeding. Said to be "hard as wood". | |
| Laccocephalum mylittae, Polyporaceae | Australia. | . | Sclerotium weighs up to 18.18kg (40.08lb).[46] | Each subterranean sclerotium produces several mushrooms above ground. | ||
| Laetiporus sulphureus, Polyporaceae | Widespread in Northern Hemisphere. | Approximately half of a specimen found by Ty Whitmore near Maysville, Missouri in October 2005 was 30abbr=onNaNabbr=on wide by 16abbr=onNaNabbr=on top to bottom.[47] [48] [49] | 16abbr=onNaNabbr=on top to bottom. | This portion weighed 25.46kg (56.13lb) | The other half fell into a creek and could not be recovered. | |
| Termitomyces titanicus, Lyophyllaceae | Zambia, and the Katanga (Shaba) region of Congo (Zaire), in Central Africa. | The type specimen measured 63cm (25inches) across the cap, and stood 56cm (22inches) in height.[50] [51] | 56cm (22inches) in height. | Weight not stated. | Others are stated to be up to 1m (03feet) in diameter.[52] A photograph was posted on April 19, 2016, on the respected "Words from the Wild" blogsite of a T. titanicus not less than 35inches width across its greater axis.[53] | |
| Buglossoporus magnus, Fomitopsidaceae | Apparently endemic to the Malay Peninsula. | In 1940 Prof. E.J.H. Corner found the first on a fallen log in the Bukit Timah Forest Reserve, Singapore, which was 23.5inches in width.[54] | Weight not stated. | Extremely rare. Only collected three times, all on the Malay Peninsula. | ||
| Phlebopus colossus, Boletaceae | Eastern Madagascar. | 60cm (20inches) across the cap (pilea) and 10inches in height.[55] | 25cm (10inches) in height. | 13 lbs (six kg). | ||
| Leucocoprinus gongylophorus, Agaricaceae | Panama | 20abbr=offNaNabbr=off across cap by 12inches in height.[56] | 30 cm in height. | Weight not stated. | ||
| Aspropaxillus giganteus | North Temperate Zone. | Pilea (cap) up to 18abbr=offNaNabbr=off in width,[57] and about 12inches in height. | 30cm (10inches) in height. | Weight not stated. | ||
| Boletus edulis, Boletaceae | Widespread in the northern temperate zone. | A specimen found in 1995 on the Isle of Skye, Scotland measured 42cm (17inches) across the cap atop a stem 14cm (06inches) thick.[58] | It weighed 3.2kg (07.1lb) | Common names include "penny bun" (Britain), "Cep" (France) and "Porcino" (Italy). | ||
| Agaricus campestris, Agaricaceae | Throughout the Northern Temperate Zone. | In 1907 One was found in England which measured 4feet in circumference equivalent to a width of 17abbr=offNaNabbr=off.[59] | Weight not stated. | An Agaricus campestris grown in 1846 at Vitry near Paris, France and presented to King Louis Phillippe, was 14abbr=offNaNabbr=off wide, on a stalk 18.5inches high and weighed 5lb.[60] | ||
| Widespread in the North Temperate Zone. | One found by Kelly Young in Iowa was 15abbr=offNaNabbr=off in height and 14inches in cap girth.[61] The measurements were certified by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. | 37cm (15inches) in height | It weighed 1.5lb |
Two large specimens are excluded from the list above. The first, a polypore photographed in 1903 at Yeerongpilly, Brisbane, Queensland, measured about 2m (07feet) in width by 1m (03feet) top to bottom, emerging from a tree about two 2m (07feet) thick. It was sturdy enough to support the weight of two average women.[62]
The second is more speculative. Somewhere in his world travels, writer/naturalist/explorer Ivan T. Sanderson encountered reports of a species of fungi which "weigh a ton, and upheave large trees".[63] The earliest report appears to have been in the writings of James Brooke.[64]
