PlantSnap Photos of the Week 2020
Clathrus archeri - octopus stinkhorn
Clathrus archeri – octopus stinkhorn
Clathrus archeri, commonly known as octopus stinkhorn, squidward mushroom, or devil’s fingers, is a fungus which has a global distribution.
This young fungus, which resembles an ocean starfish, erupts from an egg by forming into four to seven elongated slender arms initially erect and attached at the top.
The arms then unfold to reveal a pinkish-red interior covered with a dark-olive spore-containing gleba.
In maturity it smells like putrid flesh.
Recently, Clathrus archeri has been reported from the Shola Forests in the Western Ghats, Kerala, India.