Stinkhorn Fungus

Traditionally two families of stinkhorns were recognized. The distinct smell actually comes from a fungus called Stinkhorn a fungus with a straight phallus-like stem found in many western parts of North America.

Stinkhorn Fungus

Phallaceae is a family of fungi commonly known as stinkhorn mushrooms within the order PhallalesStinkhorns have a worldwide distribution but are especially prevalent in tropical regions.

Stinkhorn fungus. The most inappropriately named is the elegant stinkhorn Mutinus elegans. In fact plants benefit from the presence of stinkhorn mushrooms because they break down rotting material into a form plants can use for nourishment. Phallus impudicus the Stinkhorn emerges from an underground eggThe cap is initially covered with a smelly olive-green gleba that attracts insects.

Common stinkhorn Phallus impudicus has a white shaft and a brownish-green head Elegant stinkhorn Mutinus elegans and also M. Also known as Maiden Veil Fungi. Latticed stinkhorn Clathrus ruber is orange pink and looks like a red.

The cap itself is slimy and dark brown with a coarse texture. It looks like a horn and it really stinks. Aseroe rubra Phallus rubicundus and others.

It is a common mushroom in Europe and North America where it occurs in habitats rich in wood debris such as forests and mulched gardens. Stinkhorn fungi grow in an astonishing array of forms. Stinkhorns produce odours that attract the flies and other insects that assist in dispersing the reproductive bodies spores.

This fungus is characterised by a terrible smell likened to rotting-meat which has been known to cause groups to change their campsites. Due to the obscene shape Victorian people were disgusted and ashamed at the shape of this fungus. The inner layer can be cut out with a knife and eaten raw it is crisp and crunchy with a radish-like taste.

Ravenelii has a orange-pink shaft and a dark tapered head. Although they might look nasty have an awful smell and attract lots of flies and pests the stinkhorn fungus is not a threat to people or plants. In parts of France and Germany young stinkhorns are eaten fresh pickled and also in sausages and the powdered fungus is said to be used as an aphrodisiac.

More exotic are the bright red or pink starfish stinkhorns Aeseroe rubra. The binomial name is even more descriptive. These fungi produce a dark brown to black slime containing spores on their surface which has an intense smell of rotting meat or sewageThey are very common on wood or bark-chip mulch in gardens and on deep litter on the rainforest floor.

Stinkhorn any fungus of the order Phallales phylum Basidiomycota kingdom Fungi typified by a phalluslike ill-smelling fruiting body. The Phallaceae held stinkhorns with unbranched stems including species of Mutinus Phallus and Dictyophora now synonymized with Phallus among othersThe Clathraceae included stinkhorns with branched stems and those with funky latticed structures--including Clathrus Lysurus Colus Laternea and others. The most common type of stinkhorn fungus Phallus ravenelii has a pale white stalk and a phallic shape.

Stinkhorn is edible but only at the egg stage when the smell is less strong. Phallus impudicus what roughly translates to shamelessly phallic. They dont harm plants or cause disease.

There are four common stinkhorn mushrooms Im aware of. Extract from Wikipedia article. The mushroom typically stands between 1015 cm 46 inches high and the cap at its tip ranges in diameter from 14 cm 0416 inches.

The unfortunate shape and vile smell of mature stinkhorn might lead you to think that these mushrooms are poisonous but in fact they are not. Colonnaria columnata Linderia columnata Linderiella columnata. Phallaceae Distribution - Taxonomic History - Etymology - Toxicity - Identification - Reference Sources.

Theres a reason Stinkhorn Mushrooms smell. This is why I have put together a few key facts for you to add to your own mushroom handbook. Phallus impudicus known colloquially as the common stinkhorn is a widespread fungus recognizable for its foul odor and its phallic shape when mature the latter feature giving rise to several names in 17th-century England.

Not all fall into that category. Stinkhorn fungi even seem to be beneficial to the environment because they grow on rotting pieces of wood and break it down into organic matter that serves as food for other plants. Stinkhorn mushrooms which emit spore-infested gloop that smells like the rotting dead flesh of animals is disgusting in every regard.

This fungus is not a fly catcher but rather attracts blowflies to crawl through its veil collecting spores which it spreads through the rainforest. The stinkhorn can be found in woods and gardens and is associated with rotting wood. One of the mushroom varieties you definitely want to avoid is the fabled Stinkhorn.

Clathrus columnatus commonly known as the column stinkhorn is a saprobic species of basidiomycete fungus in the family. The pitted bell-shaped cap is covered with olive-brown slime and has an offensive smell. The most ordinary of them resemble morel mushrooms Morchella spp.

Clathrus columnatus Bosc Clathrus columnatus Columned Stinkhorn. Stinkhorn gets its name for a reason. The stinkhorn is a phallus-shaped fungus that emerges from an egg-shaped base.

Stinkhorn fungi are smelly reddish orange mushrooms that may resemble a wiffle ball an octopus or a straight stem up to 8 inches 20 cm high. They are known for their foul-smelling sticky spore masses or gleba borne on the end of a stalk called the receptaculumThe characteristic fruiting-body structure a single unbranched receptaculum with.

Stinkhorn Fungus In The Phallaceae Family Other Names It Is Known By Are Bamboo Fungus Bamboo Pith Long Net Stinkhorn Stuffed Mushrooms Fungi Mother Nature