Prototaxites

Prototaxites; Temporal range:
	Branching apex of P. loganii, "Schunnemunk tree"
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Stem group:	Ascomycota
Family:	†Prototaxitaceae; Hueber
Genus:	†Prototaxites; Dawson 1859
Type species
	Prototaxites loganii; Dawson, 1859
Species
	P. caledonicus (Lang 1926) Schmidt & Teichmüller 1954; P. clevelandensis Chitaley 1992b; P. forfarensis (Kidston 1897) Pia; P. hicksii (Etheridge 1881) Dawson 1881; P. honeggeri Retallack 2019; P. loganii Dawson, 1859; P. ortoni (Penhallow 1896); P. psygmophylloides Kräusel & Weyland 1930 ex Kräusel & Weyland 1931; P. saharianum (Chiarugi 1934); P. southworthii Arnold, 1952; P. storriei (Barber 1892); P. taiti (Kidston & Lang 1921);
Synonyms
	Celluloxylon Dawson 1881; Germanophyton Høeg 1942; Nematophycus Carruthers 1872; Nematophyton Dawson 1888; Nematoxylon Dawson 1863;

Prototaxites /ˌproʊtoʊˈtæksɪtiːz/ is an extinct genus of terrestrial fossil fungi dating from the Late Silurian until the Late Devonian periods. Prototaxites formed large trunk-like structures up to 1 metre (3 ft) wide, reaching 8 metres (26 ft) in length, made up of interwoven tubes around 50 micrometres (0.0020 in) in diameter, making it by far the largest land-dwelling organism of its time.

The taxonomy of Prototaxites has long been the subject of debate. Currently, it is widely considered a fungus, but the debate is ongoing. Its exact relationship with extant fungus lineages is uncertain. It was almost certainly a perennial organism that grew over multiple years. Several ecologies have been proposed, including that it was saprotrophic like many modern fungi, or that it was a lichenised autotroph.

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