By Tori Preston | Miscellaneous | October 12, 2017 |
By Tori Preston | Miscellaneous | October 12, 2017 |
It’s been a rough week, OK. It’s one thing to understand the depravity, immorality, and insanity that the human race is capable of in a theoretical way. Like, “yes, people are horrible and do horrible things, I am aware.” It’s another thing to have example after example of this up and slap you in the face everywhere you look.
So you know what? I’m gonna turn to nature for inspiration today. Perhaps find a new cute furry lil critter to ooh and ahh over, or yell about stupid koalas again. Maybe there’s a pretty flower to look at or OH GOD WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS SHIT?!
That, friends, is the so-called “devil’s fingers” fungus (Clathrus archeri), also known as the “octopus stinkhorn” because of fucking course it is, look at it. It’s indigenous to Australia and New Zealand because OF FUCKING COURSE IT IS, LOOK AT IT. Even the things that aren’t trying to kill you in Australia still look like they’re trying to kill you. *side-eyes Thor…*
Anyway, this fungus spends most of its time underground chowing on wood, but when it’s time to reproduce they do what we all do: burst out of leathery egg-like sacks and produce a greenish black, putrid-smelling, spore-filled slime, which attracts flies that come and carry those spores to new, different pieces of wood.
Duh.
Here’s another video of it, for funsies!
I like how the smell is likened to “rotting flesh” — that’s a nice touch. Anyway, it’s October, so I hope you enjoyed this little taste of Nature’s creepshow.