A fungus that normally infects trees caused an abscess to form in a man's neck. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works .

So simply plucking a dead man’s finger from the base of a tree doesn’t get rid of the fungi itself. “Fungi, in some regards, are immortal,” says Kasson.

A man in India visited a doctor for a sore throat that affected his ability to eat and swallow. Doctors found an abscess in his throat, and it was full of a fungus usually only found on trees.