Woman's 'strange' find sprouting from backyard lawn: 'Smells awful'
'This amazing bridal veil stinkhorn fungus popped up overnight on my back lawn,' she posted online alongside a photo of the bell-shaped brown and white organism in her Old Bar garden. In all her time living in the area, the woman said she had 'never seen one before'.
And it turns out she's not the only local to come across the bizarre looking species, with one person claiming they 'saw a bunch of them' recently.
'They are popping up all over the place, very strange,' another added. 'I've had about five so far. Very unusual things aren't they?' someone else said. Others mentioned the fungi's strong smell, noting the blowflies seemed to 'love it'.
🌱 Warning as 'extremely dangerous' growths appear in gardens
🪵 Mysterious find growing in forest concerns Aussies
🩸 Bizarre backyard find dripping 'blood' stumps locals
The bridal veil stinkhorn features a delicate lacy 'skirt' and can be found growing in woodlands and gardens on Australia's east coast, and some parts of the Northern Territory.
'They very much come up in response to rain — so the conditions over the past couple of weeks have been ideal, and there are lots of different species of fungi appearing all over the north coast,' Professor Brett Summerell, chief scientist at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, told Yahoo News Australia.
'They hatch from egg shaped structures underground in the soil, will be present for a few days and then just as quickly disintegrate and return to the soil. They are important for the ecosystem as they help break down organic matter and return the nutrients to the soil.'
Professor Summerell described the species' smell as 'awful' yet very effective at attracting flies to spread the spores, 'which they do very effectively'. The scent is often likened to rotting meat or sewage.
'They don't appear to be poisonous — but who or what would eat them — dogs sometimes like to rub against them because of the smell! But no harm seems to happen.'
The numerous stinkhorn species come in various shapes but all produce the smelly brownish slime. Previously, a lantern stinkhorn fungus shaped like a tongue was found in a Queensland woman's yard, leaving other Aussies 'creeped out'.
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