33-pound Mushroom Grown in China Draws Admirers, Speculations of World Record [VIDEOS]

A farmer in China harvested a mushroom so big that it has drawn speculation from locals that it might be one of the largest in the world.

The 33-pound fungus is three feet across and is said to have more than 100 caps. It has not been confirmed what sort of mushroom it is or whether it is safe to eat, but it appears very similar to a group of East Asian mushrooms known as shimeiji.

In a video posted online one onlooker marveled at the size of the fungus.

"I guess this mushroom can be entered into the Guinness World Records," she said as she photographed the ball of grey capped mushrooms, according to The Telegraph.

The mushroom was grown in Puxiong Township in China's Yunnan province.

Yunnan, according the the blog EastBySoutheast, is also known as the "Kingdom of Mushrooms."

The province is renowned for 20 to 30 species of edible mushroom, the blog reports, but there are as many as 600 species of edible mushroom that grow naturally in the province.

China as a whole produces about half of the world's cultivated mushrooms, according to CNN, and Yunnan mushrooms are particularly in favor. Citing a Yunnan mushroom growers association, the website InKunming reports that in 2010 "10,572 tons of fresh boletus mushrooms were exported in 2010, with a total value of 71.83 million USD." Boletus is a genus of mushroom comprising more than 100 species.

In 2001, a Chinese a mushroom farmer's average salary averaged RMB 3,269 per year, CNN reported, citing China's Ministry of Commerce. (As of July 30, 2013, that amount is equal to $533 USD.)