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Australian Okratek, also known as the devil's fingers, came to Poland as early as the 1970s, but is more and more common in our country. It has a very original appearance resembling an octopus, jellyfish or the aforementioned devil's fingers. Is Australian Crochet poisonous?

Australian Okratek( Clathrus archeri ), also called devil's fingers in Great Britain, and stinky octopus in the United States, is a mushroom with of the stinkhorn family. As the name suggests, it comes from Australia, originally also found in New Zealand, Mauritius and South-East Africa. From there, it spread to Asia, the Americas and Europe.

Australian Okratek is not a parasite, butsaprophyte , a useful fungus that breaks down organic matter into simple compounds, so it does not threaten our ecosystem. In some parts of the world it has been included in the Red List of Threatened Species. It is not protected in Poland.

Australian Okratek in Poland

In Poland, the Australian okratka was first observed in1975 , residents of the vicinity of Biłgoraj mistook its fruiting bodies for snake eggs. In our country, he is mainly seen in the Sudetes, the Carpathians and in the highlands of south-eastern Poland.

It can be foundfrom July to Octoberin young deciduous and mixed forests (most often in the vicinity of warty birch, pine and aspen), thickets, on the edge of forest roads. Likes well-fertilized, wet and slightly sandy soils, as well as places rich in organic matter (for example, decaying wood).

Formerly it was also calledAustralian flower , as to some it resembled an unfolded flower.

What does an Australian okratek look like?

Australian Okratek has a very specific appearance, it is difficult to confuse it with another mushroom. At the beginning of development it is awhite-gray egg4-6 cm in diameter, slightly sunk into the ground. Over time, its upper part breaks andcoral red arms emergeslightly resemblingoctopus or jellyfish . They are covered as ifblack sludge . The arms can be from 4 to 6, their length can be up to 15 cm. On the insidein the shoulder layer there is a slimy layer of soil with spores, which gives off a very intense and unpleasant carcass smell(similar odor).

Australian Okratek (devil's fingers) - is it edible?

Australian Okratekis not a poisonous mushroom , but due to its discouraging smell it is mostly consideredinedible mushroom. Interestingly, in some countries, young fruiting bodies, also known as devil's eggs, are considered a delicacy.

Snails and flies eagerly cling to okratek, which spread its spores to new areas.

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