The following post was written by Woodlore's Leather Worker, Becky Brewster: [caption id="attachment_7854" align="alignnone" width="625"] Octopus Stinkhorn[/caption] I thought I would share an unusual find - these were in a field in Horam, East Sussex. The first one was about 2 meters from the edge of the field and had the appearance of a starfish just dropped on the grass. Closer inspection revealed it was growing from the ground and so we looked further and found these ‘beauties’ at the very edge. I have never seen these before so took some photos to help with identification. My outdoor team colleagues tell me they are the Octopus Stinkhorn fungi and quite rare. [caption id="attachment_7850" align="alignnone" width="625"] Octopus Stinkhorn[/caption] The arms apparently erupt from the egg-like earlier stage of growth and are joined at the tip like the fingers of a poking hand: no wonder that together with their vivid red colour and putrid smell they are also known as Devil’s Fingers! [caption id="attachment_7851" align="alignnone" width="625"] Octopus Stinkhorn[/caption] - Becky Brewster