A disgusting and extremely rare form of fungus has been found growing in a UK city centre.
The “Devil’s fingers” fungus, a red curling monstrosity that hatches from a slimy, gelatinous egg originates from the southern hemisphere.
Yet Ethan, a 26-year-old web developer, found the fungus in Derby city centre whilst on a walk during his lunch break, reports Derbyshire Live.
Ethan was first aware of the fungus by its unpleasant odour. It is well-known to smell like rotting meat.
He said: “I was just on my work break on Tuesday, probably around midday, and I go for a stroll sometimes.
“I’ve recently taken an interest in foraging and nature and things, so I’m always having a look to see if I can identify them at all.
“I was just walking past there, I wasn’t actively thinking about it or looking, I’m not sure if I saw it first or smelt it because it makes a rotting meat smell.
“I’d watched a few videos online about foraging and guides to identifying them in the UK, and I started getting into mushrooms and trees and whether they’re poisonous or not.
“It became a good Covid activity obviously because you can walk around outside and become a bit more connected with your environment.”
Devil’s fingers, also known as Clathrus Archery, were first spotted in the UK in 1914 and tend to favour moist and shaded areas of wood chips.
According to Wildlife Trust, the fungus can grow up 7cm in length and has starfish-like tentacles.
Its smell serves an evolutionary purpose by attracting insects to non-poisonous mushrooms so that they can spread their spores.
Ethan believes that because the fungus is not native to the UK it may have arrived in Derby with the wood chips.
He added: “I’ve done a bit research on it and although it’s not a concrete theory, it supposedly is from New Zealand/Australia and was accidentally brought here in WWI along with supplies, it’s not often found this far North in the country and it’s usually found in the south.
“They certainly don’t seem very native, and because that’s not a very natural area, I wonder whether they got here with the wood chips.
“They’re definitely unusual in the Derby area.”