Mother Nature never fails to amaze — and one of her strangest surprises is the Clathrus archeri mushroom, better known as “devil’s fingers.”
One look at it, and you’ll understand why it earned that eerie nickname. Native to New Zealand, Tasmania, and Australia, this bizarre fungus doesn’t even look like a mushroom — it resembles something alive and alien.
What makes it even more unusual is how it emerges. Unlike most mushrooms that simply sprout from the ground, this one develops inside a sac that looks like an egg. Watching it burst out of this shell can be quite unsettling. Once it does, it reveals four to eight tentacle-like arms, giving it its signature creepy appearance.
Its bright pink, pimpled surface and strong odor are designed to attract flies. These insects help spread the mushroom’s spores — allowing it to reproduce and thrive.
This bizarre mushroom is also known as the “octopus tentacles” fungus — not exactly a charming name, but definitely less creepy than it looks. When it emerges, it literally tears through its outer shell with claw-like structures. What follows is a dramatic display: 4 to 8 tentacle-like arms unfold, bright pink, covered in bumps, and giving off a foul odor.
That smell is no accident — it attracts flies, which land on the mushroom and then carry its spores elsewhere, helping it spread.
According to experts, the only stage of this fungus that’s technically edible is the egg phase, and even then, it’s only considered safe in extreme survival situations. Honestly, you’re better off skipping it and finding some berries instead.