Day 13. Curry Punk.

We have a lot of this fungus growing on some old logs. The logs were pruned from a Eucalypt in our front yard, a couple of years ago.

Curry Punk is quite common here on dead trees, especially if they've been affected by a bushfire. It gets the name from its curry smell. I've been trying to find out where the punk bit comes in, as you don't usually think of it as meaning, smell. The best I can find are a couple of definitions, one meaning rotten wood, used as tinder. Said wood have been broken down by fungus, which is what is happening here. The other is Chinese incense, which would smell, obviously.

I've got down on my hands and knees to see if this smells of curry, but all I could smell was rotting wood, and the basil and curry plants that are both nearby in the garden bed. Apparently it doesn't smell much until it matures and this one is relatively young.

Taken with the Frankencamera.

#fungus #currypunk