Poisonous Fungus That Is Fatal Has Been Spotted In Australian Rainforest

Mother Nature has a rather unique way to pick humans off the face of Earth. As if poisonous fungus, caterpillars and flying snakes weren’t enough, we now have a bigger threat to deal with – the Podostroma cornu-damae. Popularly known as the poison fire coral, this fungus was previously reported to be found only in Asian countries like Japan and Korea, but if it wasn’t for fungi expert Ray Palmer, we’d never know that it has reached halfway across the globe! How it reached there? ATH mycologist Dr. Matt Barrett says even scientists are baffled.

This bright red fungus is no joke and should be left alone when spotted because when touched, even accidentally, it can impart not less than eight dangerous and deadly compounds that can easily be absorbed through the skin. Researchers from James Cook University (JCU) stated that a simple touch can cause skin inflammation and dermatitis. If the touch is so deadly, what happens to someone who accidentally ingests it? Several deaths have been recorded in Japan and Korea where people brewed their tea with the poison fire coral after mistaking it for the edible Ganoderma or Cordyceps and died from multiple organ failure or brain nerve dysfunction.

For instance, in 1999 five Japanese people brewed their sake with one gram of poison fire coral and they all died within 48 hours of drinking it. According to Dr. Barrett once ingested, the poison fire coral causes stomach pain followed by vomiting, loose motions, fever, and numbness. Then over the course of hours or days, the victim starts to notice changes in the skin on their face, hands and feet. Furthermore, poison fire coral has the potential to shrink the brain and if left untreated, can cause death from multiple organ failure or brain nerve dysfunction.

In October 2019 Dr. Barrett told the BBC that researchers have come across more than a hundred types of deadly mushrooms, but the poison fire coral is the only fungus carrying deadly toxins that can be easily absorbed through the skin. Although the poison fire coral was initially thought to be found only in Japan and Korea, researchers have spotted them in Thailand, China, and Papua New Guinea. Dr. Barrett thinks that the fungus may have used wind as transportation to spread its deadly spores to different places thousands of years ago. And the next place it chose to grow is Australia.

Known for its massive spiders and ginormous snakes, Australia is now home to the poison fire coral. Palmer, who’s been photographing different kinds of fungus for over 11 years, immediately recognized it in one of his expeditions to a rainforest in Redlynch, however, he needed confirmation. After carefully collecting some samples he took them to JCU where researchers confirmed that what he had found was, indeed, the lethal poison fire coral. Dr. Barrett believes that since not many people in Australia are ‘fungi-fanatic’ the poison fire coral was left undetected. Nevertheless, in the past six months, this deadly fungus was part of a huge list of hidden species found in Australia.