The Devil's Fingers Collection

Initially endemic to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the devil’s fingers, or octopus stinkhorn, has now naturalised in parts of Europe and the UK and has spread globally, shocking unsuspecting dog walkers, and delighting would-be mycologists everywhere, as its soft white “egg” ruptures to reveal between four and eight blood-red, tentacle-like arms coated in dark, spore-rich slime that smells like carrion. 

Nature, you’ve really outdone yourself. This looks as though it should only be seen emerging from the chest cavity of John Hurt.

This design is embroidered in rich detail, on a heavyweight, organic cotton tee or five panel cap. Because nothing says “I know my fungi” like walking around with this saprotrophic nightmare fruit on your chest.

Why wear the devil’s fingers?

  • Looks like it belongs in a horror film but it’s 100% real and 1000% fascinating
  • Emits the stench of rotting meat (we don’t judge) to attract flies which help to spread its spores.
  • Likely arrived in the UK with war supplies in the 1910s and is commonly found in areas used by the military (in especially large numbers in the New Forest).
  • Rare enough to spark serious curiosity – common enough that you might get lucky in the right woodland.
  • Presents you with what is likely going to be your only chance to use the word ‘erumpent’ which is the scientific term for the way its egg or sac bursts through the ground as it matures.
  • The kind of mushroom that makes people go, “...wait, that’s real?!”

We know you're not here for the mainstream mushrooms. You’re into the strange, the spectacular, the slimy underdogs of the forest floor. This design tells the world you’ve got an eye for the odd ones – and an appreciation for the ecological weirdness that keeps the planet turning.