The ‘Space Alien Fungus’ as it is sometimes described is the Anemone Stinkhorn (Aseroe rubra), other common names include sea anemone fungus and starfish fungus. It was the first Australian native fungus formally named. Collected from southern Tasmanian during the La Pérouse expedition by the French Botanist Labillardière in 1792 and described in 1800.

Stinkhorns are weird and smelly fungi that attract flies and other insects to them to help them spread their spores. These fungi recycle nutrients and love mulch so they are more common than they used to be.

Anemone Stinkhorn (Aseroe rubra)