Shrooms that squiggle and stinksThis is a very interesting fungi, called the Octopus stinkhorn (Clathrus columnatus). They all have a foul-smelling slime covering part of the fruiting body. With the odor of fresh dog feces, the stinkhorn attracts green bottle flies to dispers. The octopus stinkhorn with its branched fingers belongs to the Clathraceae family. The dark colored slime clings to the inside of the structure and smells like something died.They are indigenous to Australia and Tasmania and an introduced species in Europe and North America. The young fungus erupts from a suberumpent egg by forming into four to seven elongated slender arms initially erect and attached at the top. The arms then unfold to reveal a pinkish-red interiour covered with a dark-olive spore-containing gleba.