A Texas star is born. It's one of the RAREST fungi in the world, it's the OFFICIAL state mushroom of Texas, and it was JUST sighted at a Texas state park.

I know what you're thinking: Devil's Cigar?

Sounds like a brand of smokes by Monica Lewinsky, right?

In a recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Facebook post they detailed the experience of some eagle-eyed hikers who spotted the rare shroom along a hiking trail at Inks Lake State Park in northern Texas.

The Devil's Cigar, also known as the Texas Star or Chorioactis geaster, is a rare star-shaped mushroom that is highly selective about where it grows and has only been spotted in Texas and Japan.

The mushroom was even designated as the state mushroom of Texas in 2021 because of its obvious connection to the Lone STAR State.

According to the department's Facebook post,

The rare and rather unique, star-shaped fungus is highly selective about where it grows, mostly attaching to decaying cedar elm stumps in the central and northern parts of Texas.

It appears in the late fall as a dark brown, fuzzy capsule, and its distinctive shape and 4-inch size have earned it several nicknames, including the Devil's Cigar.

The "Texas Star" is known for releasing a strange hissing noise at times, and its "Devil's Snare" moniker seems to come from when it releases a hazy cloud of spores as it unfurls.

In the video below, if you look closely, there is a haze of smoke around the mushroom, not necessarily coming out of it.

The reason for the weird distribution of the Texas Star to just Texas and small spots in Japan is still a mystery for scientists.

I'd like to take that trip, personally.

Let me know what your think nico@klaq.com