Phallus hadriani

Description

This mushroom emerges from an 'egg' beneath the surface. The cap is initially covered with olive-green 'gleba', a smelly coating that attracts insects which in turn distribute the spores. It is a widely distributed species and is native to Asia, Europe, and North America.

Phallus hadriani is edible only in the egg stage.

As one would expect with a Latin name of Phallus, this stinkhorn is recognized by a phallic-shaped fruiting body and spongy-textured stipe. The remarkable transformation from a purple-tinged "egg" to a mature, malodorous stinkhorn takes only a few days.

In California, Phallus hadriani is most commonly found in parks and sandy areas where its lilac-colored egg stage could conjure up thoughts of misplaced Easter eggs. For homeowners, however, who unexpectedly find it in their garden, the beauty of the egg stage is outweighed by its foetid odor making it an unwelcome guest.

Common names: Sand Stinkhorn, Dune Stinkhorn.

Mushroom Identification

1. Ecology

   Saprobic; growing alone or gregariously in gardens, flowerbeds, meadows, lawns, wood chips, cultivated areas, and so on; summer and fall; widely distributed in North America.

2. Immature Fruiting Body

   Like a whitish to yellowish (or purplish, in Phallus hadriani) "egg" up to 6 cm across; usually at least partly submerged in the ground; when sliced revealing the stinkhorn-to-be encased in a gelatinous substance.

3. Mature Fruiting Body

   Spike-like, to 25 cm high; with a cap 1.5-4 cm wide, which is covered with olive-brown to dark brown slime; often developing a perforation at the tip; the cap surface pitted and ridged beneath the slime; sometimes with a whitish to purplish "skullcap" (a remnant of the volva); with a whitish, hollow stem, 1.5-3 cm thick; the base enclosed in a white (Phallus impudicus) or purplish (Phallus hadriani), sacklike volva, which is often at least partly submerged underground.

4. Spore Print

   Olive.

History

Phallus hadriani, was described in 1798 by French botanist Étienne Pierre Ventenat (1757 - 1808), who gave it the scientific name Phallus hadriani (a binomial name that was subsequently sanctioned by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in his Synopsis Methodica Fungorum of 1801).

The genus name Phallus was chosen by Carl Linnaeus, and it is a reference to the phallic appearance of many of the fruitbodies within this fungal group.

The specific epithet hadriani is named in honor of Dutch botanist Hadrianus Junius (1512 - 1575) who, in 1564, wrote a pamphlet about stinkhorn fungi.

Synonyms

1. Phallus iosmus Berk.

2. Hymenophallus hadriani (Vent.) Nees

3. Phallus imperialis Schulzer.

Photo sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Nathan Wilson (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo 2 - Author: Avg39128 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 3 - Author: Ladybug Deerman (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photo 4 - Author: Gabriella Byers (CC BY-SA 4.0)