Mushy for Mushrooms

The Blood Tooth Mushroom - what murderous elves live under

Note to self: begin rejoicing in all those freaky things you have always loved. They will lead you to the path that you are supposed to be having fun on.
What is it about mushrooms? They come in a bazillion varieties and they feel more like animal than plant. Maybe that's why they often taste like meat instead of vegetable. When I was in Costa Rica a few years ago I found a cluster of glow-in-the-dark mushrooms. Two of my favorite things in one. What many believe to be the largest living thing on our planet is currently growing mostly underground in eastern Oregon. The Armillaria ostoyae, a.k.a. the honey mushroom, is believed to be 2,200 acres across in size, or 3.5 miles long, all planted inside Malheur National Forest. What people have seen all the years prior to it's whole body discovery were the clumps of small, above-ground mushrooms, all thought to be independent, individual fungus colonies. Not only is it huge, it’s also old. Some mycologists say this vast fungus is at least 2,400 years, others think possibly even 7,200 years old.
It's currently accepted amongst genetic researchers that fungi are more closely related to humans and animals than to plants.

Another toothed mushroom: the great bearded tooth mushroom