Phallus indusiatus

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by Michael Kuo

This amazing tropical stinkhorn features a long and elaborate "skirt." In North America, it is found in the southern provinces of Mexico; northward it is replaced by the short-skirted Phallus duplicatus. Readers who have seen the Discovery Channel's Planet Earth series may remember the stunning time-lapse photography sequences of Phallus indusiatus rising from the ground, then gracefully extending its net-like skirt.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic; growing alone or gregariously in woods, especially in disturbed-ground areas (ditches, paths, road sides, and so on); also common in urban settings; year-round; distributed in North America from roughly the 24th parallel southward (southern Mexico).

Immature Fruiting Body: Like a whitish brownish or purplish "egg"; when sliced revealing the stinkhorn-to-be encased in a gelatinous substance.

Mature Fruiting Body: Spike-like; to 25 cm high; with a "cap" area that is pitted and ridged, and covered with a slimy, olive-brown substance that eventually wears off (or is carried away by flies), leaving a light brown coloring; usually developing a perforation at the top; with a white stem that arises from a white, sacklike volva; with a laced, white to yellow, orange, or pink "skirt" hanging up to 15 cm from the bottom edge of the cap; odor unpleasant or strongly sweet.

Microscopic Features: Spores 2.5-3.5 x 1-1.5 µ; long-elliptical to nearly cylindric.

Dictyophora indusiata is a synonym.

REFERENCES: Ventenat, 1798. (Persoon, 1801; Saccardo, 1888; Dring, 1964; Arora, 1986; Guzman, Montoya & Bandala, 1990.) I have not collected this mushroom.

Several forms of Phallus indusiatus have been described based on the color of the skirt, including form luteus (with a yellow skirt) and form roseus (with a pink skirt).

Peru

Brazil

Japan

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2008, February). Phallus indusiatus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/phallus_indusiatus.html