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Lantern Stinkhorn
Lysurus mokusin
-27.5084, 153.018
Field Notes
Description:
The Lantern Stinkhorn is a saprobic species of fungus in the family Phallaceae. The fruit body, which has an odour comparable to "fresh dog feces" when mature, is edible in its immature "egg" stage. Native to Asia, and is also found in Australia, Europe and North America, where it is probably an introduced species. It has been used medicinally in China as an ulcer remedy.
Habitat:
Found in my backyard in moist garden mulch after many days of rain. In Australia it grows mainly in the tropics and subtropics, in areas where rotten wood and/or mulch are present. Plenty of that in my yard, and I'd also spread some fresh manure around the garden. It's most likely that the spores were transported via the manure.
Notes:
They weren't kidding when they named this one. OMG it is rotten. Another stinkhorn species growing at the same location: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/31634056 The most obvious difference between the two species is the shape of the stipe. The Lantern Stinkhorn has flat edges along its length, whereas the Red Stinkhorn is completely cylindrical.
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