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They might not be the perfect pairing with a steak but deep sea mushrooms are a beautiful, hidden part of the ocean’s eco-system.
From the plate on your table to the marine depths of the Caribbean, from the Indian Ocean or the Atlantic: sea mushrooms, which are inedible species, are creatures belonging to the coral family that live underwater alongside fish and algae.
Getting a close look at them means going diving or snorkeling. Despite not being much fun to eat, they reward divers with an array of colors from orange to red, violet to green. Very similar to anemones, sea mushrooms are also among the most expensive of all mushrooms, due to the fact that they’re highly prized by owners of tropical aquariums.
Entire colonies of marine organisms hide amongst their colored branches, drawing their nutrition directly from the tentacles of the sea mushrooms. There’s even a species amongst the jellyfish family – the mushroom jelly – which is named as such due to the fact that it resembles a mushroom.
Comet jellyfish, on the other hand, have eight long tentacles, all covered in a stinging network of tiny mouths which they use to seek out food.
The best place to go and admire them is Curacao.
