Rare ‘alien-like’ fungus spotted in the UK- with a name perfect for Halloween

An amateur photographer was spooked by an alien-like fungus that resembles a hand reaching out from a grave.

The bright red fungi is known as Devil’s Fingers due to its spindly tentacles that protrude from the ground.

It gives off a rotting flesh-like smell to attract flies and insects which it feeds on.

It is usually found in late October but has appeared early due to the wet weather, and Julia Rosser stumbled across the rare sight in the New Forest, Hants.

Mrs Rosser, 67, a retired teacher from Bournemouth, said: ‘I have found Devil’s Fingers in roughly the same area last year so I was on the lookout for them.

‘They burst out of the ground with these red tentacles or fingers. This one looked more like a hand than any I have ever seen before. It looked like it was reaching out from beyond the grave. It looked very creepy.’

The fungi is native to New Zealand and Australia and is believed to have been brought to France during the First World War in military supplies.

They first appeared in the UK more than 70 years ago, but sightings are uncommon and they are a sought-after find among mycologists.

The bright red fungi emerges from partially-buried cream coloured ‘egg’ around the size of a golf ball and can sprout between four to eight bright red tentacles or fingers.

Devil’s Finger also goes by the name ‘Octopus Stinkhorn’ as it emits a powerful rotting flesh-like smell which attracts flies, beetles and slugs to the fungus.

Once they arrive, spores contained inside the fungus’ slimy residue stick to the insects, which allows the plant to spread and reproduce.

Originating in the southern hemisphere, the fungus was believed to have been brought to the UK by Australian soldiers in World War 2, which may account for why it is regularly seen in the New Forest and other areas in southern England that were used by the military in 1942.

Although the fungus is not said to be toxic, its unpleasant smell usually keeps people away.

Dorset Wildlife Trust says the devil’s finger fungus can reach up to 5cm high, with tentacles stretching to 7cm long.

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