I'm pretty sure it's a fungus/mushroom. It *might* be lobster claw mushroom... At least that's what first came to mind, but looking around the net images, I can't find any that look like yours, so I have no idea.
In addition, now that I am paying attention, I see you said this was found in South Africa -- wow now I REALLY have no idea!
I would NOT rely on anyone to tell you if a mushroom is poisonous or not over the Internet. You need an expert to actually look at it and make whatever identification tests they need to do.
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I agree with everything applestar said. I did some looking around too and couldn't find your fungus exactly, but here's a little illustration of the rich and varied similar forms these fungi can take: