How to identify Stinkhorn

To correctly identify Stinkhorn (Phallus rubicundus), check each of these features in order. Misidentification is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning, so cross-reference multiple sources.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Cap

   Shape, color, surface texture, and diameter.

   Conical to campanulate, 2-4 cm tall, covered by a slimy, olive-brown to dark brown gleba when young. The gleba is highly odorous and attracts insects. After the gleba is removed by insects, the cap reveals a reticulate (net-like or honeycomb-like) surface, typically reddish-orange, matching the stipe color.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Absent. Spores are embedded in the gleba.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   Stipe (stem) is 8-20 cm tall and 1-2.5 cm thick, cylindrical, hollow, spongy, and brittle. It is typically bright red to orange, tapering slightly towards the apex. It arises from a cup-like volva (remnant of the 'egg' peridium) at the base, which is whitish and often stained with gleba.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   The 'egg' stage contains a firm, gelatinous layer surrounding the developing stipe and cap. The mature stipe is hollow, spongy, and brittle.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Initially an 'egg' stage, 2-4 cm in diameter, whitish to pale brown, subglobose to ovoid, partially buried in the substrate. As it matures, the outer peridium ruptures, and the stipe rapidly elongates, pushing the cap upwards.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, growing on decaying wood, leaf litter, wood chips, garden mulch, and disturbed soils. Often found in gardens, lawns, cultivated areas, and woodlands.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Reticulate (net-like) after gleba removal, covered in slimy, olive-brown gleba when young.

Growth Form

Emerges from an 'egg' stage, then rapidly elongates into a columnar structure.

Spore Print

Olive-brown (spores are embedded in the gleba).

Body color

Bright red to orange stipe and reticulate cap; whitish volva; olive-brown gleba.

Odor

Foul, putrid, carrion-like.

Flesh bruises

Does not bruise.

Height

8-20 cm

Cap Diameter

2-4 cm (height of cap)

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Absent
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, hollow
• Stem surface: Spongy, brittle
• Ring: Absent
• Stem cross-section: Hollow

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