An amateur photographer was spooked by an alien-like fungus that resembles a hand reaching out from a grave.
The bright red fungi is known as Devil’s Fingers due to its spindly tentacles that protrude from the ground.
It gives off a rotting flesh-like smell to attract flies and insects which it feeds on.
It is usually found in late October but has appeared early due to the wet weather, and Julia Rosser stumbled across the rare sight in the New Forest, Hants.
Mrs Rosser, 67, a retired teacher from Bournemouth, said: ‘I have found Devil’s Fingers in roughly the same area last year so I was on the lookout for them.
‘They burst out of the ground with these red tentacles or fingers. This one looked more like a hand than any I have ever seen before. It looked like it was reaching out from beyond the grave. It looked very creepy.’
The fungi is native to New Zealand and Australia and is believed to have been brought to France during the First World War in military supplies.
They first appeared in the UK more than 70 years ago, but sightings are uncommon and they are a sought-after find among mycologists.
The bright red fungi emerges from partially-buried cream coloured eggs and can sprout between four to eight bright red tentacles or fingers.
They also go by the name Octopus Stinkhorn as it can give off a rotting flesh-like smell to attract the flies and insects it feeds on.
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