The Devils Fingers 26th October 2022

I have always been fascinated by certain fungi, those that are colourful and unusual tend to get my attention while the many brown ones not so much, as they all look so similar and are hard to identify. From this you will know I am very much a novice at recognising and naming fungi and it is only since last year and a chance conversation with Peter, a fellow Oxonbirder that I have taken to searching out these fascinating organisms and learning more about them.

Today, courtesy of B a good friend in Sussex who knew where to go, I headed for that fair county with Peter as I knew he too would relish what I was going to see. Our destination was an inconsequential lane running through some open woodland. The arrangement was to meet there in a muddy layby at 1100 and we would be shown the very spectacular Devils Fingers or Octopus Stinkhorn as they are known in America.

They are something that when seen in a book immediately make one wish to see in the flesh. 

Collecting Peter from his home in Garsington at 8.30 we headed south and  apart from the customary slow moving traffic around Heathrow we made good time. In fact we were going to be early. The satnav however had other ideas and directed me to a route that crossed the county via a series of lanes rathet than sticking to the motorway. From my time living in Sussex I knew the latter option was by far the better but allowed myself to be swayed by the dulcet tones of my Satnav.

The result was a mini tour of parts of the county even I had never seen, encountering frequent roadworks and diversions, sending us through charming rural villages but adding half an hour to the  journey. I will not make that mistake again

We eventually found the layby if you can call it that, which in reality was no more than a muddy pull off heavily disguised under a prolific carpet of fallen leaves. 

Despite taking the scenic route we were still twenty minutes early for our rendezvous with B so set about looking for the Devils Fingers while awaiting his arrival.

Devil Fingers are a spectacular looking, alien fungus, native to Australia and New Zealand and thought to have first arrived in Britain in 1914,  hitching a ride on war supplies of wood.They like open broadleaved woodland and parkland and are mostly found growing in leaf litter from late summer to late autumn. Sometimes they can also be found on the wood chip mulch that is used in gardens.Still rare, they are restricted to the south of England although Peter's research found a private site as far north as Buckinghamshire. 

When Devils Fingers first breach the surface of the soil they appear shaped like an egg or golfball, slimy and gelatinous and 2-3cms in diameter from which the fingers or tentacles slowly emerge and protrude, a bit like a flower breaks from a bulb. Rapidly they grow upwards to about 5cm high before expanding outwards.When fully developed the five to six fingers are bright crimson, arching over for up to 10cms as they protrude from the pale fleshy bulb. The finger's upper surfaces are covered in a putrid smelling jelly called gleba that attracts flies which in turn distribute the spores of the fungus. 

When I touched one of the fungus, my finger was imbued with the foul smell of rotting flesh. Not very pleasant and only alleviated by washing my hands in soap and water.

 

The above images reflect the growth stages of the Devil's Finger fungus

I walked up a slight bank onto an area of open hazel woodland with a generous carpet of fallen leaves. The distinct pungent and not unpleasant aroma of rotting wet leaves was all around me but tainted with a fouler putrid smell being issued by the fungus we sought. 

We had been told by B that 'the fingers' could be found on either side of the lane and it only took a minute to find the remnants of one. All that was left was a rather forlorn and faded finger half covered by leaves.

I moved on and found several more in much better condition in a small cluster and as my eye became attuned to their appearance soon discovered yet more. B arrived and parked in the layby. Joining him he pointed to the other side of the lane and there was an almost perfect specimen growing at the top of the bank beside the lane. 

We all took our turn to ooooh and aaaah at this gem as it sat, an outlandish alien amongst the native ivy, holly, moss and fallen leaves, insects dotting the sticky crimson surfaces of its fingers.

We returned to the other side of the lane where the light was better for photography and soon found others. Slowly as one's eyes became accustomed to looking, more and more appeared in various stages of their development. We called out to each other about our latest discovery. 

This year according to B they were more prolific than last year and I reckon we must have discovered at least twenty between us, a few in their prime or just beginning to emerge. There were others that had long since gone over, collapsed, their fingers faded to paler pink and lying prostrate amongst the leaves. How many more emerging ones lay under the carpet of leaves it was impossible to judge.

For two happy hours we spent our time wandering under the trees and through the leaves, never ever more than twenty metres from the lane.

For those of you familiar with the Alien movies the fingers emerging from the egg-like globe will recall a few memories I am sure!

We finally conceded we had done the fungus justice, got all the images we wanted and it was time for a brief chat and catch up before we parted company with B.

Knowing how many people would want to come and see this most unusual fungus I regret the site has to remain secret as it is too vulnerable to disturbance. 

It only occurred to me later how appropriate it was to see this spooky looking fungus nigh on All Hallows Eve. 

I played Night on a Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky when I got home. It seemed the right thing to do.

 A little romantic licence and imagination never goes amiss!.