16 Most Bizarre Mushroom And Fungi Species In The World

With about 14,000 described mushrooms currently inhabiting dank forest floors, decaying tree trunks, and dung piles, there are bound to be some strange-looking varieties. Some depart entirely from the toadstool silhouette—the stereotypical rounded-cap-atop-a-stem set—with lengthy hairlike spines, fanning shell shapes, flower-esque pedals, and lattice designs. Others that lack uniqueness in shape are fantastic in their royal blue, indigo, and even bioluminescent colors.

The Devil's Cigar (Chorioactis geaster): The body of this extremely rare mushroom looks like a fuzzy brown or black cigar at first. But when this bizarre fungus reaches maturity, it peels itself back like a banana — or as if it were a "blossoming flower of death." When it peels back, the strange fungus forms a star-like shape of four to seven rays. Inside the body, its spore-bearing tissue is anywhere from white to brown, depending on its age. When it opens, a distinct hissing sound can be heard — along with a smoky cloud of spores. This extremely rare mushroom has a very odd distribution; you can find it only in Texas, Oklahoma, and Japan. So far, scientists can't say for sure what these different but specific locales have in common to host this fungus.