Jemunu-jah eyed the nodding strands with new respect. “How big?”
“Big enough so that these rhizomorphs and mycelium could all be part of a single organism.” He glanced at the dubious Deyzara. “This here wouldn’t have to ‘communicate’ with those that killed the mokusinga if they were all part of the same organism. Big enough so that these basidiocarps,” and he indicated the tripartite fruiting bodies nearby, “and the ones we saw at the place where we were attacked by the mokusinga could all be reproductive bodies sprouting from the same individual source.”
The Sakuntala mentally retraced the ground they had covered during the past couple of days. It was not great, but it was substantial. “That very difficult to believe, Hasa.”
“I’ve studied organisms like this. With all due respect to the accumulated practical knowledge of the Sakuntala, your kind haven’t.” He turned thoughtful. “One variety is called Armillaria ostoyae. It lives a more restricted life than your pannula, living mostly on tree roots. For a long time, my kind didn’t recognize it for what it was because by far the bulk of it existed below ground. It took a long time for people to understand that the fruiting bodies and mycelium they were seeing were all part of a single gigantic life-form. One Armillaria was found that covered five square kilometers.”
Masurathoo performed the quick calculation, translating human units of measurement into those of the Deyzara. “That is not possible!” he finally declared, rolling his eyes.