Country diary: sci-fi fungus flourishes in the forest

New Forest Octopus-like tentacles are stained with what appears to be congealed blood and there's a stink of rotting flesh

Naturalists need good contacts, and generalists such as me depend on observant friends to pass the word when they see anything that might be of interest. A phone call alerted me. My friend had spotted a photographer at work, and enquired what he was taking. He had been tipped off that there was a rare fungus nearby and had come to get some pictures of it. Jeremy thought I should know.