clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Boston Neighborhoods vs. the World's Biggest Organisms: How They Compare

Southie has nothing on the Blue Mountain Honey Fungus

There are many ways to measure how neighborhoods stack up. We normally prefer comparing them based on developments or on intangibles such as the benefits of parks and public art. And yet: There is another metric.

Real estate research site NeighborhoodX has lined up the areas of various Boston neighborhoods against the two biggest creatures on Earth.

One is the Pando Clone in Utah, which, according to the National Park Service, "is believed to be the largest organism ever found at nearly 13 million pounds. The clone spreads over 106 acres, consisting of over 40,000 individual trees." In other words, same set of roots, many, many sprouts.

The other is the honey fungus that stretches across 2.4 miles of Oregon's Blue Mountains. According to the BBC, it, and not the Pando Clone, "is thought to be the largest living organism on Earth." (Depends on how you define organism/creature, we imagine.)

Regardless, here below is how these monsters compare area-wise with Boston neighborhoods such as Dorchester and South Boston. Happy morning after St. Patrick's Day.