AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) – A hissing mushroom might sound like something out of “Super Mario World” but this rare toadstool wasn’t made up by Nintendo. It’s called chorioactis geaster but it goes by a few other names.
Here in the U.S., it’s likely known as the Texas star since it’s only been found in Texas — not to mention over 6,000 miles away in Japan, where it grows on decaying oak trees. In 2021, it was even designated the official State Mushroom of Texas.
It typically appears during cooler months and grows only on the decomposing cedar elm tree stumps and roots in the U.S. Oh, and yes, it hisses.
“[The Texas star] will open up into a leathery star of four to eight points,” said Angel Schatz with the Central Texas Mycology Society. “That’s when it starts to send off its spores, and sometimes you can hear an audible hiss,” Schatz said.
“[Mushrooms] will shoot their spores when there’s humidity and also when they feel the wind coming because the spores will catch the wind and be carried off to another area where they have a possibility of colonizing and re-fruiting,” she continued.
A hazy cloud has been reported to be seen when spores are released from the plant.
While the mushroom is undoubtedly rare, it can be pretty easy to spot in Central Texas if you know what to look for.
Schatz said when out foraging in a green space, try to find cedar elm tree leaves littered on the ground.
“If you see kind of tiny little leaves with serrated edges – it kind of looks like a knife edge … you’ll know that you’re in a cedar elm forest – just look for stumps that are turning brown,” she said.
The Texas star was recently spotted for the first time this season at Inks Lake State Park, northwest of Austin, after previously being seen earlier this year in the winter.
The mushroom got its other nickname, “The Devil’s Cigar,” because before it splits into its star-shaped flower, it appears as a brown capsule sticking out of the ground, resembling a large cigar. Though with its leathery body and splitting open it may remind you of a xenomorph egg from the “Alien” movie series, there’s no need to be scared of the mushroom, as they are harmless (though it’s never wise to go around touching any mushrooms you encounter).
Despite its relative commonness in Central Texas, the star remains pretty rare. As reported by Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Botanical Research Institute of Texas Research Scientist Bob O’Kennon estimates that only several hundred people have even seen it in person.
