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Mutinus species 01

by Michael Kuo, 29 May 2024

This little stinkhorn appears in Oceania, growing from decaying wood or woody debris. Like other species of Mutinus it is cylindric, lacking a structurally separated "head." The spore slime is restricted to an apical zone towards the top of the stem structure, and the yellowish surface of the stem, under the spore slime, breaks up into semi-reticulate ridges. The mature stinkhorn is about 4–5 cm tall.

The name "Mutinus borneensis" is sometimes applied to this stinkhorn, but that species is larger and features an orange to red spore zone—as tall as a finger and the color of blood, according to the original description of material from Malaysia (de Cesati 1879, my translation). Brazil's Mutinus albotruncatus is also similar, but is larger and features a distinctively truncated apex.

I have not collected this apparently undescribed Mutinus, nor have I studied any material, but I would love to study well-documented, preserved collections, in order to make this page more scientific. If you would like to help out by preserving and mailing a specimen, please let me know at .

Thanks to Debbie Viess for sharing photos of her observation of Mutinus species 01 in New Zealand.

REFERENCES: (de Cesati, 1879; Cunningham, 1944; da Silva et al, 2015.)

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2024, May). Mutinus species 01. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/mutinus_species_01.html

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