Colus pusillus
Description
Colus pusillus is a species of fungus in the family Phallaceae. The fruiting bodies consist of vivid red, wrinkled arms that branch and connect to form a cage-like structure reminiscent of that of the related species Clathrus ruber. This fungus is saprobic and makes frequent appearances on the garden mulch as a result.
Like all stinkhorns, the fruit body of C. pusillus begins as an egg-like structure. The eggs of C. pusillus are typically off-white, with a red/purple tinge and a faint latticed pattern on the surface. They are anchored to the substrate by one or more root-like rhizomorphs: thickened mycelial strands. The membrane of the "egg" soon ruptures, releasing the rapidly expanding mature receptacle, which can reach a height of around 15 cm.
The interior of the cage is covered by an unevenly distributed glebal slime, which contains fungal spores. This slime is olive-green and has a foul smell, which attracts insects that distribute the fungus' spores to a suitable location.
Common names: Craypot Stinkhorn, Basket Stinkhorn.
Mushroom Identification
Ecology
Saprobic; growing alone or gregariously; in woods or cultivated areas; year-round in tropical and subtropical areas; possibly limited to Australia.
Fruiting Body
Initially, a whitish "egg" up to 2 cm across, attached to white cords; rupturing, with the stinkhorn emerging as a cage-like structure, 5-8 cm high, of about 10 corrugated, scarlet arms that are roughly triangular in cross-section and that fuse into a stem-like and slightly paler base composed of vertical columns; the inner surfaces of the cage covered with foul-smelling, olive-brown slime; the egg tissue creating a whitish volva.
Stem
White to pinkish, central and short to about 15 mm in length.
Spore Print
Olive-brown.
Smell
Usually described as fetid, like rotting meat.
Habit
Grows on the ground in mulch and litter, it can be solitary or in clusters after rain.
Microscopic Features
Spores 4.5-6 x 1.5-2 µ; cylindrical; smooth.
Look-Alikes
Colus hirudinosus (syn. Clathrus hirudinosus)
Has an elongated fruitbody otherwise quite similar to that of Colus pusillus; it is found mainly in southern Europe, northern Africa, and parts of Asia.
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Occurs in Europe (including Britain) is of similar form but it has a less open cage structure formed without wrinkled surfaces.
History
In 1845 by English mycologist Miles Joseph Berkeley, who established it basionym as Clathrus pusillus, the currently-accepted scientific name is Colus pusillus, after a 1940 publication in the Palestine Journal of Botany and Horticultural Science by the Polish-born Jewish biologist Professor Israel Reichert (1891 - 1975).
Synonyms of Colus pusillus include Clathrus pusillus Berk., Clathrella pusilla ( Berk.) E. Fisch., Colus muelleri E. Fisch., and Clathrus higginsii F.M. Bailey.
The generic name Colus is Latin and means distaff - a fusiform tool used in spinning and the form of this fungus fruitbody when it is young.
The specific epithet pusillus means small or insignificant.
Photo sources:
Photo 1 - Author: Jackson Nugent (LysurusPeriphragmoides789) (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo 2 - Author: Karen Eliot (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Photo 3 - Author: Jackson Nugent (LysurusPeriphragmoides789) (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo 4 - Author: Shibumi Thing (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo 5 - Author: Karen Eliot (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Color:Red
Shape: Stinkhorns