Phallus rubicundus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Phallus rubicundus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Phallales |
| Family: | Phallaceae |
| Genus: | Phallus |
| Species: | P. rubicundus |
| Binomial name | |
| Phallus rubicundus | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Phallus rubicundus | |
|---|---|
 | Glebal hymenium |
 | Cap is conical |
 | Spore print is olive |
 | Ecology is saprotrophic |
 | Edibility is unknown |
Phallus rubicundus is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn family. First described in 1811, it has a wide distribution in tropical regions. It has the typical stinkhorn structure consisting of a spongy stalk up to 15 cm (5.9 in) tall arising from a gelatinous "egg" up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter. Atop the stalk is a pitted, conical cap that has a foul-smelling, gelatinous, green spore mass spread over it.
The species was first described under the name Satyrus rubicundus by French botanist Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc in 1811,[2] from collections made in South Carolina.[3] It was later transferred to the genus Phallus in 1823 by Elias Fries.[4] Synonyms include binomials resulting from the transfer to Ithyphallus by Eduard Fischer in 1888, and to Leiophallus by Émile-Victor Mussat in 1900.[1]
Description
Immature (unopened) specimens of Phallus rubicundus are spherical to egg-shaped, whitish, and measure 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) long by 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) wide. They occur singly or in groups of two to six eggs that are formed from a common mycelium.[5] They are attached to the substrate by a cordlike rhizomorph. After expanding, the fruit bodies are up to 15 cm (5.9 in) tall, and consist of a hollow cylindrical stalk supporting a conical to bell-shaped cap. The orange to scarlet stalk tapers towards to top, and has a pitted surface.[6] The wrinkled cap is scarlet red, and measures 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) high by 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) wide. It is initially covered with a foetid, slimy grayish-olive gleba.[6] The egg case remains at the base of the stalk as a volva.[7] The spores are smooth, elliptical, and measure 3.6–4.2 by 1.6–2.0 μm.[6]
Phallus rubicundus is often confused with the similar Mutinus elegans, but the latter species does not have a clearly separated cap, and instead bears its gleba on the apex of its pointed stalk.[3]