Close your eyes and picture this for a second. Okay wait, you need to keep your eyes open to read this. Let’s start over.
Picture this: you’re going on a cute lil hike in the woods with your significant other or a couple of your pals. You’re all enjoying the beauty of nature set before your eyes, the sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling from the wind, when suddenly in your peripheral vision you see what looks like zombie fingers sticking out of the ground!
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Do you: a) freak the freak out and run out of the woods as fast as you can, b) get excited because a zombie apocalypse is for sure happening and you’re prepared because you watched Shawn of the Dead and you know what to do, or c) move closer, inspect, and quickly type “zombie fingers forest” into Google search.
If you chose c), you’re brave, but also, you’d be pleasantly relieved or—disappointed—to know that a zombie apocalypse is not happening, and these are a real life fungus that won’t eat your brains.
No, a zombie apocalypse is not upon us. These little zombie fingies sticking out of the ground are called *xylaria polymorpha,* AKA Dead Man’s Finger fungus.
Ew…right?
The clump of mushrooms gets its name from the very transparent fact that they look like zombie fingers poking through the ground.
Or as website First Nature put it, the “bent fingers” look like “arthritic black knuckles.”
It’s all quite unsettling, which is why it is sure to freak anyone out on a peaceful stroll.
While they’re more commonly found in Britain and Ireland, they’re not unfamiliar to many places in Europe or North America.
In fact, Facebook user Regan Daniels shared her own photos of her discovery in western North Carolina.
If you’re now inspired to keep your eyes peeled for them on your next hike, keep an eye on the bottom of trees or fallen wood, especially in the spring when they grow.
According to Gardening Know How , they only invade dead or dying wood.
These aren’t edible, so don’t go trying to make a spell with them like the Sanderson Sisters’.
With Dead Man’s Fingers, it’s Halloween all year long in the woods!
