A Chinese news station said a strange object reported to be a rare double-headed mushroom turned out to be a discarded sex toy.

The Xi'an news station, based in the city of the same name, said reporter Yunfeng Ye was sent to the village of Liucunbu when the object was unearthed by workers drilling a new well shaft, ABC News reported Wednesday.

Ye and a villager identified the object as a type of lingzhi, a rare shelf fungus that was once believed to be the secret to immortality.

However, many viewers immediately recognized the object as a sex toy designed to mimic female genitalia.

The Xi'an news station posted an apology online the following day.

"Our program last night made everyone laugh," station officials wrote in apologizing for the "uncomfortable and misleading" report. "Our reporter is very young and sheltered." (c) UPI