| SCIENTIFIC NAME: | PHALLUS IMPUDICUS |
| VERNACULAR NAME: | STINKHORN |
![]() |
![]() |
| Fig 1 | Fig 2 |
| FRUIT BODY | Starting in a large, rubbery egg the phallic fruit body consists of a stout, cylindrical, white stem that is covered on numerous pock marks. Atop the stem is the thimble shaped head that is covered in a sticky mass of olive brown spores (fig 2). Beneath this covering is a white, honeycombed surface (fig 1). This is one of the smelliest fungi giving off a harsh odour that can carry over several metres. |
| GILLS/PORES | N/A |
| FLESH | White, spongy. There is yellowy-orange gelatinous mass within the egg from which the fruit body erupts. |
| SPORES | Pale yellow, oblong. |
| HABITAT | On or close to old stumps in broadleaved and coniferous woodland. |
| SEASON | Common. Summer to late autumn. |
| EDIBILITY | Edible in egg stage. a |