So B. was tidying the yard on Sunday when he came upon this. (As my mom put it, one's natural reaction is "What the [blank] is THAT?"). Ewww...
The top of it is limp and slimy...and it is smelly.
And yes, I know EXACTLY what it resembles! {Giggle}. What is it? It is a stinkhorn mushroom, in the order Phallaceae (um, yeah!). Let's see what Wikipedia has to say, shall we?
The Phallaceae are a family of fungi, commonly known as
stinkhorn mushrooms. Belonging to the fungal order Phallales, the Phallaceae
have a worldwide distribution, but are especially prevalent in tropical
regions. They are known for their foul-smelling, sticky spore masses, or gleba,
borne on the end of a stalk called the receptaculum. The characteristic fruiting-body
structure, a single, unbranched receptaculum with an externally attached gleba
on the upper part, distinguishes the Phallaceae from other families in the
Phalalles. The spore mass typically smells of carrion or dung, and attracts
flies and other insects to help disperse the spores. Although a great diversity
of body structure shape exists between the various genera, all species in the
Phallaceae begin their development as oval or round structures known as
"eggs". According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 21 genera
and 77 species.
Oh, nice: "foul-smelling," "carrion,"
and "dung." All that AND a penis shape!
And once you have phallic mushroom visitor, apparently
you'll have others, because this is the one I dug up yesterday...check out that
pink weirdness at the bottom (ewwwwwww!).
You simply MUST check out Google images of other 'shrooms in this order/family: Wow! (and: ewwwww!).
