SC: splitting problem

[stop@800]

Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.

A extending
B extends
C extended
D it extended
E is extending

To find answer
I splitted it as
a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of .....
[a giant fungus that] extends for more than 30 acres in the soil .....

What is incorrect in this ??

All thoughts welcome

[niraj_a]

wierd, I chose "extends" as well.

[Mani_mba]

I tried breaking the sentence like this..

a) a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago

b) a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.

Let me know your thoughts.

[wonder]

I tried breaking the sentence like this..

a) a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago

b) a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.

Let me know your thoughts.

I'l go with mani_mba. a past participle (spawned) can be used with a present participle (extending). 'Spawned' was something that happened in the past (as in the filigree generated sometime in the past ) [but] the filigree is still extending (in the present)

Why we would have chosen B was maybe the parallelism between
a giant fungus that IS....
AND
a giant fungus that EXTENDS...

But as OG11 points out, this 'ostensible' parallel would result in an awkward structure because they are too far away in the sentence.. hence we should use a participle (extending) and not a present tense verb (extends) .