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Before trees, Earth was home to fungi that grew 26 feet tall
![prototaxites, prototaxites stellaviatori, prototaxites fossil, prototaxites size, prototaxites heigh](https://assets.shortpedia.com/uploads/2022/06/13/1655125748.webp?tr=w-1200,h-600,cm-pad_resize,bg-F3F3F3)
Prototaxites, a mysterious genus of creatures that lived between 420 and 370 million years ago, grew large trunks up to 3 feet (1 meter) wide and 26 feet (8 meters) tall. Scientists debated whether these were strange ancient trees for a long time, but a 2007 study concluded that they were fungi, not plants. In 2007, study author and paleobotanist C. Kevin Boyce told New Scientist, "A 6-meter fungus would be odd enough in the modern world, but at least we are used to trees quite a bit bigger."