Photographs by Andy Newman/The New York Times

A miscreant yanked out the mushroom at some point between Aug. 7 and Aug. 11. We all know what fate awaits him or her. P.S.: It’s growing back.

Will some enterprising mycologist please identify this thing? Looking for all the world like a half-eaten fermented-entrail sandwich , it has established itself in an otherwise empty sidewalk tree pit outside the Park Slope Playground in Brooklyn, in full view of thousands of impressionable children.

Apparently the fungus has its fans. On Saturday, when a reporter stopped to inspect it, two youngsters appeared at the window of the first-floor apartment nearby and warned, “Don’t kill the mushroom.”

It’s still there as of Saturday, Aug. 7, though looking a bit aged. Go have a peek. But don’t kill it.

The photo above was taken July 31. Here’s a fresh one taken Aug. 7. The thing is getting pretty gnarly.