But there is another living thing that's bigger. Much, much bigger. Most of it is hidden underground. Known more commonly as the honey mushroom, this giant fungus was found in the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon. You might be wondering how something as huge as this fungus belongs on a web site all about microbes.
Fungi straddle the realms of microbiology and macrobiology.
Some fungi, such as the yeast used in baking bread and the fungus that causes athlete's foot, are microscopic. Other fungal species can grow into very large, multicellular mats or form the large, visible structures we commonly call mushrooms. The mycelium is a tangled mass of long strings of cell-like units joined together. The cells in fungal hyphae are similar to, but not quite like the cells that make up our bodies. The hyphae cells contain nuclei, like ours.