- This sure is a bunch of fun guys.
Mushrooms are very valuable. Not only do some of them taste amazing, but mushrooms and other fungi are some of the most important decomposers in nature.
That said, they are a bit freaky. They’re not quite animals, they’re not quite plants, and they can pop up unannounced somewhere unexpected overnight.
That, and some of them look just downright creepy.
Here are eight of the strangest mushrooms and fungi growing around the world.
1. Beefsteak Fungus
The beefsteak fungus is a bracket fungus that grows on tree trunks in Europe, Africa, Australia, and North America. It’s called what it is because it looks like a slab of meat.
The top of the fungus is a dark red color, looking like a piece of raw steak or liver. To really drive home its meatiness, it also “bleeds” a dull red liquid when cut.
That said, it can be eaten, although you should soak it overnight to avoid an upset tummy. Being edible is probably what gave the mushroom its other name — poor man’s steak.
2. Devil’s Cigar
There are two strange things about the devil’s cigar. The first one is its appearance.
The immature fruiting bodies of the devil’s cigar look like dark tubes (hence the name). Once it’s ready to release its spores, one end pop open, forming a brilliant orange star-like shape.
Yet, perhaps the weirder part is where the fungus grows. This is an extremely rare mushroom that can only be found in very select locations in Japan… And Texas.
What’s the connection between these two locations? If you know, there are desperate biologists out there who’d love for you to share your wisdom.
3. Purple Jellydisc
If you happened across the purple jellydisc on a walk, you might think somebody spilled their jelly beans. Or you might think it’s a glistening, disembodied brain.
This fungus, growing across North America, Europe, and Asia, forms a pile of shiny jelly-like lobes. Despite its jelly bean-ish appearance, you shouldn’t stoop down to taste the fungus. It’s not poisonous, but it also doesn’t taste like much anything.
But hey, it’s kind of pretty, in its own fungal way.
4. Devil’s Tooth
Here’s a decidedly unwholesome-looking mushroom. The devil’s tooth is probably what you’d end up with after smoking the devil’s cigars.
This fungus grows a white, spongy, funnel-shaped cap that look sort of like a tooth. And it bleeds.
Young devil’s teeth ooze a bright red goo out of their pores. The staining liquid really makes the things look uncomfortably like freshly ripped-out, bloody teeth.
As they age, though, devil’s teeth grow out of their teenage phase and turn into brown, nondescript mushrooms.
5. Dead Man’s Fingers (or Toes)
Picture yourself hiking in a forest when you suddenly see blackened, decayed human fingers poking out of the grounds. Did you stumble upon a murder scene?
No, it’s just Xylaria polymorpha, also known as dead man’s fingers. Or dead man’s toes, depending on which body part it happens to resemble.
These fungi grow out of the ground as dark tubular fruiting bodies. Sometimes, they just happen to get the color and proportions just right to look creepily like rotting fingers.
6. Ghost Mushroom
If you saw the Australian ghost mushroom in broad daylight, you wouldn’t think much of this oyster mushroom lookalike. Turn off the lights, though, and you’re in for a surprise.
This fungus glows in the dark.
When the lights are off, the ghost mushroom begins to emit an eerie, pale green or white glow. Researchers aren’t quite sure why the fungus glows, guessing that it might be to attract spore-spreading insects or to deter mushroom-eating animals.
The ghost mushroom isn’t the only glowing fungus out there, either. There are a few others, such as the Asian Mycena chlorophos.
7. Octopus Stinkhorn
If you thought the devil’s tooth looked disturbing, you haven’t seen the octopus stinkhorn. Really, with a name like that, you know it’s not going to be pretty.
When young, this fungus grows in a gelatinous, white egg. Once it’s spore time, it bursts open into horrible, twisted, blood-red tentacles.
Those tentacles are also coated in the stringy, black goo that houses the spores. Oh, and the whole thing reeks like putrid flesh to attract flies.
Honestly, this thing should be in a horror movie.
8. Cordyceps
Well, how about a fungus that is in a horror movie? The cordyceps fungus has inspired many horror stories, including The Girl with All the Gifts and The Last of Us.
Cordyceps is a group of parasitic fungi that infects insects and spiders. Once inside the bug, the fungus highjacks its nervous system, essentially turning it into a zombie.
The mushroom then steers the insect to an elevated position, ideal for spreading spores. It forces the bug to clamp down hard onto whatever surface its on — before commanding it to die.
And the bug does. The fungus’ creepy, fingerlike fruiting bodies push out of the corpse and let their spores fly to continue the horror show.