Devil’s Fingers: Monster or Fungus?
Imagine heading out to your garden, planning on relaxing with some weeding, only to be greeted with the utmost putrid smell. Surely something died and has sat, undiscovered for weeks, as it decayed. Except, instead of a body, you find monstrous, red tentacles reaching out from the mulch, ready to pull you into the depths of hell itself.
As you scan the ground, you spot several more of these beings, a couple still coiled inside the white egg-like sac in which they grow. Others are mid-process of ripping through the membrane, stretching out with their newfound freedom.
On a larger one, a beastly creature with seven tentacles, a fly is devouring some of the brown sticky substance that lined each outstretched appendage. Surely this is a dastardly trap, but to your surprise, the fly zooms away as you step closer. Its body is covered with gooey gleba from the tentacle on which it had feasted. Spores will release as it zigzags through the air, spreading the hideous mushroom far and wide. Dastardly trap, indeed.
Other than the extreme stench, Clathrus Archeri; commonly called Devil’s Fingers, is actually rather harmless. As far as I know, they aren’t poisonous, but not many people would have the stomach for testing their edibility. The egg sacs have been eaten from time to time, but aren’t described as having much of a taste.
Even though they’re not known to be dangerous, and aren’t likely going to be dragging anyone anywhere, I wouldn’t want one of these growing in my garden, especially since they tend to grow in groups. What do you think? Are these mushrooms intriguing enough to deal with the foul odor?