Phallus impudicus

A thank you to mudman@UBC Botanical Garden Forums for sharing this scan (original thread). Much appreciated!

Common stinkhorn can be found in the temperate forests and rich-soiled gardens of North America and Europe (and, as per Wikipedia, possibly southeast Australia). Of course, this image isn''t of the mature fungus (see: MushroomExpert''s Phallus impudicus for photographs). Instead, this is a cross-section scan of the immature stinkhorn, described succinctly in Wikipedia''s entry on Phallus impudicus:

“Sometimes called the witch''s egg, the immature stinkhorn is whitish and egg-shaped and up to 6 cm (2 in) in diameter. On the outside is a thick whitish volva, also known as the peridium, covering the olive-coloured gelatinous gleba. It is the latter which contains the spores and which later stinks and attracts the flies; within this layer is a green layer which will become the ''head'' of the expanded fruit body; and inside this is a white structure called the receptaculum (the stalk when expanded), which is hard, but with an airy structure like a sponge. The eggs become fully grown stinkhorns very rapidly, over a day or two.”

For those who ask such things, yes, it is edible at this young stage, but it is not usually eaten.

Lastly, a reminder that if you''re a fan of fungi and lichens, there are two areas of the forums dedicated to these beasties: Fungus and Lichen Appreciation & Discussion and Fungus and Lichen Identification. Posted by: Daniel Mosquin    Source