Deadly brain-shrinking fungus popping up in parks, several prefectures throughout Japan

Today  03:30 pm JST 

TOKYO

- Sightings of the deadly poison fire coral fungus increased in Japan in the month of July, with reports coming from the prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Fukui.

The world's second-deadliest fungal species after the so-called Destroying Angel (amanita virosa), Podostroma cornu-damae, otherwise known as the poison fire coral in English and kaentake (literally "fire mushroom") in Japanese, is native to Japan and Korea but has also been found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and some parts of Australia. With its fiery red color and unusual coral-like shape, it stands out from the dark brown and green shades of dirt, moss, fallen leaves, and other vegetation at the foot of trees where it thrives.