Stinkhorn fungus: Phallus impudicus
"It begins as a small egglike body beneath the soil which enlarges to the size of a golf ball. An erect phallus-like stalk breaks through the 'egg,' forming a cuplike basal volva as the stalk rapidly elongates. The swollen 'head' or cap is coated with a black, putrid, musilaginous mass of spore slime."
Oh my God, I'm melting. I am such a sucker for science. After further exploration I discovered (of course) that the "sticky penis" shroom is a delicacy in China & coveted for its excitement properties. Mmmmm. Whew. Thank you. Sigh.
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I actually found a bunch of these things, one sunny spring day. You could smell them before you saw them...LOL! And they looked like a bunch of cocks erupting from the earth!
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of the whole thing is that, unlike many mushrooms, the spores are on the outside of the "head." The mushrooms really DO smell like rotting meat. This attracts flies. They land on the head and fly off with spores on their legs. This is how the Phallus impudicus "gets around."
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