By Hannah Singer|October 19, 2012An alarming fungus is popping up quick Called elegant stinkhorn or the devil’s dipstick As distasteful to the nose as it is to the eyes Its odor’s designed to attract pesky flies Insects feed on the slimy stalk And spread its spores around the block A member of family Phallaceae and Mutinus genusMost would agree that it looks like a…
It’s that time of year again. The air is crisp, the leaves are beginning to turn, and gardeners and park visitors all over Brooklyn are gasping in horror at the shockingly erect—and putrid smelling—stalks poking out of the mulch. Mutinus elegans, a very distinctive species of mushroom, is showing up in shady, damp mulch and compost piles in parks, gardens, and backyards. This phallic fungus, known as the elegant stinkhorn, dog stinkhorn, or devil’s dipstick, is stinky for a reason. Its smell is important for its unusual means of distributing spores.
Unlike typical mushrooms, which depend on wind to distribute their spores, the stinkhorn uses insects. After sprouting from an egglike bulb, the orange or red stalks produce a slimy, carrion-scented spore coating near the tip. Flies are attracted to the scent, and after feeding on it, they fly off and dispense the spores wherever they land. Should your garden be afflicted with stinkhorns, take comfort in the fact that their reign is pretty short-lived. They’re not poisonous, so you can just let them be, and those spongy, hollow stalks will shrivel a day or two after their quick growth spurt.
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Today, the appearance of Mutinus elegans elicits a chuckle, but in the Victorian era, their erect shoots could be seriously distressing to chaste and honorable ladies. The story goes that Charles Darwin’s eldest daughter, Etty, was openly combative toward the fungi. Armed with a spear, she would roam the woods sniffing out the offensive stalks. As recalled by her niece, she would find one and “poke his putrid carcass into her basket.” Then, after cleansing the territory, she would secretly burn the fungi in order to protect “the morals of the maids.”
Etty would probably not appreciate Cornell University’s time-lapse video of a stinkhorn’s growth and decay, but you might!
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Stinkhorns are not harmful to you, your children or your pets, but as with any other wild mushroom you should not play with or eat them. If you do handle them, wash your hands as soon as possible afterwards. There is another fungus growing in this garden that is also often introduced with mulch.
Symptoms. Currently, genera within the morphological group referred to as 'stinkhorns' are not considered to be toxic. No human fatalities have been recorded as resulting from consumption of members of this group.
The stinkhorn has an unmistakeable and intense stench that has been likened to rotting meat. Its appearance is also very distinctive: a phallic, white, stem-like structure, with a brown, bell-shaped head.
Stinkhorns are often first introduced into a garden in organic materials (e.g., soils and mulches) that contain microscopic hyphae (i.e., fungal threads) of stinkhorn fungi. Once stinkhorns mature, they produce a pungent, off-putting odor that is reminiscent of rotting flesh or dung.
In parts of France and Germany, young stinkhorns are eaten fresh, pickled and also in sausages, and the powdered fungus is said to be used as an aphrodisiac for cattle. It is very common in the UK and Ireland.
Elegant stinkhorn (Mutinus elegans), also known as. devil's dipstick, is a funky-smelling fungus that is. typically found on the forest floor near rotting logs or in. mulch beds. While most fungi rely on wind to disperse.
Many people are bothered by the gross smell and scary shapes that seem to pop up overnight, but stinkhorns are actually really good for gardens. As they feed, they break down tough pieces of old wood and release nutrients back into the soil. Those nutrients are then available for other plants to use while growing.
The world's most poisonous mushroom, Amanita phalloides, is growing in BC. ABSTRACT: Amatoxins in Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the death cap mushroom, are responsible for 90% of the world's mushroom-related fatalities.
Rubroboletus satanas, commonly known as Satan's bolete or the Devil's bolete, is a basidiomycete fungus of the bolete family (Boletaceae) and one of its most infamous members.
Toxicity. 'Stinkhorns' are not considered to be poisonous. No human fatalities have been recorded as resulting from consumption of members of this group. They are considered 'Noxious' for their foul odor and reported veterinary experience of dogs ingesting the mushrooms and having gastric irritation symptoms.
Beyond these shared features, however, just about anything goes, and stinkhorns range from looking rather like morels to appearing like, um, a portion of canine anatomy, or odd marine creatures with tentacles, or crab claws, Wiffle balls, Chinese lanterns, and so on.
Mutinus caninus, commonly known as the dog stinkhorn, is a small thin, phallus-shaped woodland fungus, with a dark tip. It is often found growing in small groups on wood debris, or in leaf litter, during summer and autumn in Europe, Asia, and eastern North America.
Touching a poisonous mushroom generally does not lead to immediate or severe health effects as long as you don't have open cuts or wounds on your skin. However, it can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions. Some highly toxic mushrooms may have toxins that can be absorbed through the skin.
In general, stinkhorn mushrooms are considered edible when still in the egg stage, and are even considered delicacies in some parts of Europe and Asia, where they are pickled raw and sold in markets as "devil's eggs". An 1854 report provides a cautionary tale to those considering consuming the mature fruit body.
The specific name, impudicus, is derived from the Latin for "shameless" or "immodest." While most mushrooms rely on wind for dispersal, stinkhorns induce flies to disperse their spores. The odor is memorable. The smell is so bad that some people have mentioned a sense of panic in close proximity with a stinkhorn.
Devil's Fingers are not toxic and are quite harmless, but their unpleasant texture and odour renders them largely inedible. And unlike many introduced aliens, they are not considered to be of conservation concern (yet)!
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