It would definitely be a bit disconcerting to stumble upon these emerging from the underworld during a woodland stroll. Their putrid smell wouldn’t help either.
What are devil's fingers?
Devil's fingers or octopus fungus Clathrus archeri is a relative of the stinkhorns and a truly bizarre species. It begins life as a white or pinkish 'egg' and sprouts four or more sinister growths, shaped like a squid's tentacles. Each of these bears a trail of smelly, green-brown gunk. After a day or two, the outspread appendages become spongy and flaccid, as yours have, and the fungus rots away.
Devit's fingers is a 'fungal flower' - it attracts insects by colour and scent. Flies feed on the fetid goo, then carry away spores on their feet. The species is native to Australia and New Zealand, and arrived in Britain during the 1940s. Some believe that it began to colonise Europe during the First World War, via fodder used by the ANZAC cavalry, but it more likely turned up as a stowaway with imported nursery plants.
Where can you see devil's fingers?
Devil's fingers is slowly spreading across southern England, but is still quite rare. It is most often found in mulched flowerbeds, and in some years its scarlet claws appear among the bamboo collection at Kew.