10. Dead Man’s Toes
Is there anything weirder than this? Dead man’s fingers, also known as Xylaria polymorpha, usually arise in tufts of three to six fingers that are often bent and give the impression of arthritic black knuckles.
Not only do they show as toes, but as fingers too!
9. Bleeding Tooth (Hydnellum peckii)
Some mushrooms resemble the beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica) that grows on common oak trees in the UK looks like they’re bleeding. It is hypothesized that the appearance of blood might draw predators, who then ingest the mushroom and spores and excrete them somewhere else.
8. Warted Puffball
This looks like a medieval club!
7. The Veiled Lady (Phallus indusiatus)
Fancy a dance?
6. Ghost Fungus (Omphalotus nidiformis)
It looks like the oyster mushroom in appearance, but this glow-in-the-dark fungus is only found in Australia and Tasmania.
5. Bearded Tooth mushroom (Hericium erinaceus)
A number of names, including Lion’s Mane Mushroom, Bearded Tooth Mushroom, Hedgehog Mushroom, Bearded Hedgehog Mushroom, or Bearded Tooth Fungus, is given to this mushroom that looks like noodles or pom-pom pom. It is a type of tooth fungus that is edible.
4. Sky Blue Mushroom (Entoloma hochstetteri)
The little mushroom has a unique all-blue color, and the spores give the gills a slight reddish tint. Three azulene pigments are responsible for the fruit’s blue color.
3. The Giant puffball (Calvatia Gigantea)
Calvatia gigantea, the giant puffball, can be identified by its size and shape. Typical specimens are about the size of a soccer ball, and more or less round. It can grow to great sizes, though, and can sometimes have a shape that is more “blob-ish” than round (a 5-foot, 50-pound specimen is on record!).
2. The Brain mushroom (Gyromitra esculenta)
The fruiting body, or mushroom, is an irregular, brain-shaped cap dark brown in colour form that can grow to be 10 cm high and 15 cm wide. It is supported by a thick, white stipe that can reach a height of 6 cm (2.4 in).
1. The Devil’s Cigar (Chorioactis), the rarest mushroom in the world
One of the rarest mushrooms in the world is a star-shaped mushroom called the Devil’s Cigar (Chorioactis geaster). The Texas star is another name for it.
