As a child, I read science fiction, and later, I watched Hollywood films in this genre with enthusiasm. But I never thought that a xenomorph egg from the movie “Alien” could end up in the lawn in the yard.
At first, the creature looks like an egg, which gradually opens, and under the transparent film, blood-red parts of some organism are visible. A little later, the shell bursts…
From it emerge slime-covered tentacles, spreading a disgusting stench around them…
Here, in the best traditions of fantasy action movies, you already want to shoot this abomination with a blaster, and then call the right place and ask them to send scientists to study the remains of the extraterrestrial monster…
But blasters can now only be bought at Children's World, and a report of aliens in your garden may attract scientists to you, but they will be employees of a psychiatric institute.
What kind of beast is this? In fact, it is not a beast, but a mushroom – the Archer's Flower Herald (Clathrus archeri). Its fruiting body is contained in a translucent shell called a peridium. It is pierced by a special organ – the fruiting body (receptacle), which carries the spores outside.
The fungus originally lived in Australia and New Zealand, but along with spores that settled on woolen products exported from there, it spread to the rest of the continents, and now it can be found in Europe, North America, Africa, and some parts of Asia.
So, if you suddenly see such a miracle in the forest, don't grab your blaster. If only because you don't have one.
