Devil's fingers fungus that smells like 'rotting flesh' found in New Forest

A rare fungus that smells like 'rotting flesh' has been found in the New Forest by wildlife enthusiasts.

The smelly, strange looking fungus is known as 'Devil's finger fungus' and is not native to the UK.

Also referred to as octopus stinkhorn, its eye catching red tentacles splay out like a starfish and are coated in a dark goo that looks like clotting blood.

It is rarely seen in the UK and was first found in 1914. Few sightings have been reported over the years, with most being in southern England.

Julia Rosser managed to track down this fungus in the New Forest, after fellow enthusiast Clive Hill reported finding it in the depths of the site.

Her pictures show the unique form the fungus takes, with its spindly red-clasped branches reaching for the sky. When fully grown they can be up to 15cm tall.

The fungus originates from Australia and can usually be smelt before it seen because of the odour it emits.

This 'pungent, rotting' smell attracts insects such as bluebottle flies, and the spores are carried away on their legs to colonise new sites.

Jess Brooks from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, based in Fordingbridge, wrote in detail about the odd fungus.

"When ready to ‘fruit’, the fungus network stretches up to the soil surface and develops into a translucent, gelatinous, egg-shaped structure with the fingers forming inside," she said.

"When ready to release the spores, the fingers ‘hatch’ slowly out of the egg in a bunch, before unfurling back on themselves into the octopus-like form.

"It is thought to have arrived in Europe with war supplies such as wood and wool in the early 1900s, and it can be reliably found in certain hotspots in the New Forest in Hampshire, where military bases were established in 1940s.

"All in all, this species is a fascinating and otherworldly addition to our native fungi."

The fungus isn't toxic and is technically edible, though it isn't recommended to eat it as it tastes 'rather disagreeable'.

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