the.com/stinkhorn
a mushroom that mimics rotting flesh to trick flies into spreading its spores
means A type of fungus that erupts from an egg-like sac into a phallic stalk topped with a foul-smelling slime, which attracts flies that then carry off its spores.
from A plain English compound, exactly what it says: "stink" (the smell) plus "horn" (the shape). "Stink" comes from Old English stincan, a verb that once meant simply to emit a smell, good or bad, before it narrowed to the reeking sense; "horn" is the ancient Germanic word for an animal's horn, pressed into service for anything that juts up in a pointed curve. The botanical genus Phallus, given by Linnaeus, makes the other obvious observation with rather less politeness.
- smell strategy
- reeks like carrion to lure pollinating flies
- growth speed
- erupts from its egg in mere hours
- spore delivery
- flies eat the slime, then poop spores elsewhere
- edible stage
- the unhatched egg is eaten in some cuisines
- shape rep
- its phallic form scandalized Victorian botanists
phallus impudicus — european stinkhorn fungus that smells like rotting flesh, spreads globally via soil transport
aseroe rubra — australian stinkhorn with star-shaped red fruiting body, now invasive in europe and north america
clathrus ruber — red cage stinkhorn native to mediterranean, expanding northward into uk and scandinavia since 1950s