30 Bizarre and Beautiful Mushrooms

With about 14,000 described mushrooms currently inhabiting dank forest floors, decaying tree trunks, and dung piles, there are bound to be some strange-looking varieties. Some depart entirely from the toadstool silhouette—the stereotypical rounded-cap-atop-a-stem set—with lengthy hairlike spines, fanning shell shapes, flower-esque pedals, and lattice designs. Others that lack uniqueness in shape are fantastic in their royal blue, indigo, and even bioluminescent colors. Many of the most bizarre mushrooms on the planet are extremely elusive.

Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
Lion's mane mushroom growing on tree in Dutch forest
wavipicture / Getty Images
This mushroom goes by many names—lion's mane, bearded tooth, hedgehog, bearded hedgehog, Satyr's beard, or pom pom mushroom—and is known for its strange, stringy appearance. The "strings" are actually spines that grow from a single point on the mushroom and cascade down like the yarn of a mop head. Lion's mane mushrooms are usually white in color and round in shape. They're technically tooth fungi that can be found on hardwood trees throughout North America, Asia, and Europe.