A one of a kind appearance, blood colors and a trail of death that comes from the mushroom. It is theAseroë stealsa mushroom that seems to have come out of the fictional town of Hawkins, the setting of the Stranger Things series, and in fact it could be just like that.
This very particular fungal species comes from Australia. Due to an involuntary exchange of spores theAseroë steals it has spread to North America and throughout the European continent, including Italy. Although it is a rather rare mushroom, little reported in our territories, it can be found on damp soil, in gardens and in mountainous areas.
THE’Aseroë steals it is a “basidiome with a white peridium of globular shape which when torn at maturity lets out a structure reminiscent of anemones or starfish. The red arms are covered with a greenish brown and finally blackish gleba containing the spores”. This is how the Mycological and Botanical Association Amint describes it.
More than starfish, however, this mushroom would be much more reminiscent of the Demogorgon, the terrible predator of the upside down described for the first time by Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas during one of their evenings playing Dungeons & Dragons. This fungus is in fact saprophytic, that is, it feeds on dead animal or plant organisms in a state of decomposition.
Similarities aside, there is another element just mentioned that makes us lean towards this far from friendly comparison: the smell of the mushroom. Experts define it as “typically cadaverous”, a very strong nauseating smell of putrid cards, which discourages many brave people from approaching.
In short, if during an excursion in the woods you spot one of these mushrooms it is best to keep your distance, we have warned you.
