One of our small group found this wonderfully unusual fungus on our walk this morning. I had longed to see one of these for ages, so this was a real treat. It was too dark to get decent photos deep in the woods, and this specimen is far from perfect. However, it is such a fascinating fungus.

"The Earth Star is a striking soil fungus, so named because the outer wall of the spore-bearing body splits open into a star.

One metaphor refers to the rays standing on their tips, like a ballet dancer standing on their toes. Like other earthstars, the outer, leathery wall (peridium) splits open into the rays of a star, but the rays fold down into "legs" that support the spherical spore case that sits on a short stalk or pedicel. The rays are firmly attached to a clump of mycelium and leaf debris."
From "The Amazing Fungi " website.