Drew Palmer, an amateur mycologist and board member of the West Virginia Mushroom Club who helps poison control identify toxic fungi, found a bright purple-and-yellow mushroom in June.

According to WKRC, DNA testing produced a genetic sequence researchers had never previously recorded, and the specimen is now being examined to determine whether it belongs to a new species or even an entirely new genus.

Palmer told WCHS that finding something no one has ever documented before is 'just a step above.'

Beyond the unusual genetics, the mushroom has a striking visual trait. Palmer told WKRC that under ultraviolet light the mushroom's colors shift from purple and yellow to blue and orange.

The AOL report, citing WCHS, describes the mushroom as having chrome-yellow gills and shifting to shades of blue, orange and yellow under UV light. That combination of vivid pigmentation and an unrecorded DNA sequence is what has drawn attention from researchers and mushroom enthusiasts alike.

The discovery came as Palmer was helping Kanawha State Forest staff investigate a potentially new kind of zombie-ant fungus.

WKRC reports that Palmer and forest naturalist Jess Blalock collected a specimen of the parasitic fungus, which infects ants, alters their behavior so they latch onto wood, then grows from the ant and releases spores to infect others.

AOL notes the specimen is undergoing testing to determine whether it represents a previously unidentified species. Blalock told WCHS the fungus helped inspire 'The Last of Us,' though Ophiocordyceps cannot infect people.

Palmer argues fungi are essential to ecosystems because they break down decaying organic material and support trees. 'None of us would be here without them,' he told WCHS, adding that knowing where we live helps us protect it.

He also cautioned the public against eating wild mushrooms without confirming identity through multiple reliable sources: 'Don't eat a mushroom on a whim or a hunch. Always make sure you know what you have before you eat it.

Otherwise I might be answering your poison case.' The genus determination awaits the ongoing testing.