Or, How I Learned to Stop Tripping and Love the Fungus Amongst Us

Look, not all mushrooms are here to blow your mind. Some are just here to glow in the dark, smell like dead bodies, or look like something out of a Guillermo del Toro fever dream. The world of fungi is vast, freaky, and full of characters that wouldn’t get invited to a microdosing panel in Silicon Valley—but that doesn’t mean they’re not magical in their own right.

Let’s meet a few of the lesser-known weirdos. No trip required.

**Disclaimer: Never eat mushrooms you find. Some mushrooms can be highly poisonous. Only digest mushrooms you get from a Trusted Source.**

🍄 1. Panellus stipticus — The Party Trick

Also known as the “glow-in-the-dark mushroom,” this little guy lights up like a kid who figured out how to put LEDs in their sneakers.

Found in: North America, Europe, and parts of Asia—usually on decaying wood in forests.

Real Magic: Bioluminescence. It produces a greenish glow thanks to enzymes reacting with oxygen—like a firefly’s artsy cousin.

Can you trip on it?
Nope. But you could use it to freak out your guests during a power outage.

 

🍄 2. Phallus indusiatus — The Lacy Diva or The Bridal Stinkhorn

Known as the “veiled lady,” this one looks like a Victorian ghost decided to become a mushroom. It’s beautiful. It’s strange. It smells like rot.
Just like your ex.

Found in: Tropical regions of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia.

Real Magic: It attracts flies by mimicking the scent of decay—then covers them in spores. Nature’s perfume is weird like that.

Can you trip on it?
Only if you’re deeply moved by lacework.

 

🍄 3. Hydnellum peckii — The Bleeding Tooth Fungus or The Devil’s Tooth

Dracula’s favorite fungus. White and spongy with blood-red droplets that ooze from its cap. If Edvard Munch painted a mushroom, it would be this one.

Found in: North America and Europe, often in coniferous forests.

Real Magic: It produces a natural red pigment and contains compounds with potential antibiotic properties. Also, it just looks like it’s in pain, which is something.

Can you trip on it?
You’ll get more of a rush from biting into a ketchup packet.

 

🍄 4. Clathrus archeri — The Devil’s Fingers

Imagine a red starfish hatching out of an egg, then reeking of rotten meat. Voila! You’ve got yourself the Devil’s Fingers.

Found in: Originally from Australia and New Zealand, now also seen in Europe and North America.

Real Magic: This Australian horror show disperses spores by mimicking carrion. Its “arms” burst out and curl like it’s auditioning for a Cronenberg film.

Can you trip on it?
No, but it’ll haunt your dreams anyway.

 

🍄 5. Auricularia auricula-judae — The Cloud Ear Fungus

AKA “wood ear” or “Judas’s ear.” It looks like a damp ear growing on a tree and has the texture of a gummy bear left out in the rain.

Found in: Worldwide, especially in temperate and subtropical forests.

Real Magic: Used in traditional Chinese medicine and in hot and sour soup. Said to improve circulation and heart health. Also, it’s edible. Sort of.

Can you trip on it?
Only to the extent that chewy textures can blow your mind

🍄 6. Aseroe rubra — The Anemone From Hell

Another stinky beauty, and similar to the Devil’s Finger mushroom, this one’s shaped like a red sea creature and smells like dead animal. Lovely. You’ll find it in Australia, or anywhere nightmares are sold.

Found in: Native to Australia and New Zealand, also spotted in parts of the U.S. and Europe.

Real Magic: Its fetid scent lures flies to help spread its spores. Nature loves using the gross to propagate the beautiful.

Can you trip on it?
No, but you might question your life choices if you sniff it.

So, What’s the Point of All These Weirdos?

These mushrooms won’t send you into the 9th dimension, but they remind us that “magic” isn’t always about psychedelia. Sometimes it’s about bioluminescence. Or horrifying smells. Or looking like a haunted lace doily.

Psilocybin gets the spotlight—but the rest of the fungal kingdom is out here doing performance art in the woods.

Some mushrooms twist your mind.
Some just twist—glow, ooze, stink, and sprawl. And they’re all just doing their thing in the damp corners of the world, reminding us that being weird is its own kind of trip.

Head back to the safety of SmilesHigh.Club