Rare hissing, spore-spewing mushroom found at Texas state park, officials say

BURNET, Texas – If you’ve seen HBO’s “The Last of Us,” chances are you’ll perk up if you hear of “spores” or “fungus.”

Though we aren’t on the set of the apocalyptic tv sequence, a novel, hissing mushroom that tends to “puzzle scientists” was lately found at Inks Lake State Park, in Burnet, Texas. The park is about two hours away from San Antonio.

The park shared photographs of the mushroom, generally known as the Texas Star or the Devil’s Cigar, on Facebook. It was additionally named the State Mushroom of Texas on July 22, 2021, in line with park officials.

The Devil’s Cigar can usually be found rising on decaying cedar elm stumps in Central and North Texas. Park officials mentioned the one different place the fungus may be found is round Kyushu, Japan.

“It is said that when the devil’s cigar unfurls, it releases a strange hissing noise and hazy cloud of spores,” park officials mentioned.

The mushroom usually seems in late fall and is a “dark brown, fuzzy capsule that spans three to four inches long,” park officials mentioned on social media. It’s one of many rarest mushrooms on this planet.