SOME SHROOM! | On vacation from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sam Mitich examines a very large Braintree Hill bracken fungi with his father, Jason. This particular specimen, growing on the trunk of a decaying sugar maple, measures 27" from side to side. While quite large, it is tiny compared to the largest living fungus in the world.That may be a honey fungus of the species Armillaria ostoyae. One of this type, in Oregon, is believed to be the largest fungal colony in the world, spanning 2,200 acres. Estimated to be 2400 years old, the total mass of the colony may be more than 500 tons. (Herald / Bob Eddy)