Florida: Octopus Stinkhorn Mushroom

Octopus Stinkhorn Mushroom in Our Backyard

Closed Octopus Stinkhorn Mushroom at St. Sebastian River Preserve

Open Octopus Stinkhorn Mushroom at St. Sebastian River Preserve

The most incredible mushroom is growing in our backyard here in Florida – the octopus stinkhorn.  As you can imagine, it lives up to its “stinky” name, and has arms like an octopus.  When I first saw it, I thought it looked like a red starfish with its arms closed together.  Now that I know what it is, I need to keep an eye on it and get a better quality photograph than this one taken with my cell phone.  The octopus stinkhorn mushroom originally came from Australia, and probably got exported with sheep’s wool.  What a neat plant!  More info and pictures are at:  http://www.kuriositas.com/2013/10/fungtopus-incredible-fungus-that-looks.html.

UPDATE:  We saw the Octopus Stinkhorn Mushroom while out hiking at the St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park – South Entrance trail in December 2014.  Pictures 2 and 3 are from that sighting.  A mere touch of a finger triggered the mushroom to open.

Orange Jelly Mushroom

Orange Jelly Mushroom

This mushroom is called Orange Jelly or Witches’ Butter.  It grows on logs in the redwood forest.

Oyster Mushroom

Oyster Mushroom

This picture shows the underside of an oyster mushroom in the redwood forest.  We lit the inside with a flashlight to highlight its beauty.

Icicle Mushroom

Icicle Mushroom

We saw this spectacular icicle mushroom growing under the redwoods at Huddart Park in the San Francisco Bay Area.  This tooth fungus is one of our most beautiful mushrooms.  Incredibly fantastic and special pictures of mushrooms can be seen at:  http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/05/fantastic-fungi-steve-axford/?fb_action_ids=10152327608696598&fb_action_types=og.likes