This Earth is home of various different creatures and plants, many of which we’ve never meet or seen.
Back in 2020, a woman named Regan Daniels of North Carolina was taking the usual walk at the park in her home town when she stumbled upon something creepy but fascinating at the same time.
Assuming that the members of the Facebook group Mushroomcore would love it, Daniels shared the photos of the strangely looking fungus there, not assuming that her post would attract the attention of thousands of people.
What Daniels actually came across was what is known as Dead Man’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha), a type of fungus resembling toes or fingers of a dead person trying to break through the ground. “Saw this Dead Man’s Fingers (or toes in this case) fungus that I literally thought was a Halloween decoration!,” she wrote in her post which showed the swollen, blackened “fingers.”
Many of the people, who were totally stunned by the photos, didn’t know that this fungus is actually quite common and is prevalent in Britain, Ireland, mainland Europe, and various regions across North America, so if you are observant enough, you can see it yourself.
Xylaria polymorpha (commonly known as dead man’s fingers) is a saprobic fungus from Europe & North America. pic.twitter.com/0eftkoW5w1
— Nature Is Weird (@NaturelsWeird) September 7, 2017
These mushrooms are mostly found in areas of dead or dying wood and that’s why Dead Man’s Fingers are often seen poking up through moss and rotten leaves.
A lot of people were convinced that Daniels’ photos were too surreal to be genuine, but others who have also seen these mushrooms confirmed the photos were likely authentic. “I found the mushroom in Western North Carolina in the United States at a park that I frequent,” Daniels shared with Bored Panda and added, “The walk is nice [and] it’s next to the French Broad River so there’s a lot of good scenery.”
The fungus Xylaria polymorpha a.k.a “Dead Man’s Fingers.” You can see why! I remember doing this during my degree. pic.twitter.com/aoyPyj8EyJ
— Carla Valentine (@PastMortems) November 3, 2015
What do you think of Daniels’ find? have you ever seen anything like this?
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Bored Daddy
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