Cambridge, UK, July 2024

Common stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus)

Had a lovely interaction at Thetford Forest with a small child, who told me all about the different woodpeckers he was there to see, while I showed him he could literally 'sniff out' the stinkhorns that were all over the forest floor.

the common stinkhorn is a fungus in the phallaceae family (the stinkhorns). it is widespread across the world, & is thought to form mycorrhizal associations with trees - especially conifers.

the big question : can i bite it?? the edibility is "not recommended" (likely due to its foul stench & slimy texture), although some parts of france & germany eat the immature fungus !!

p. impudicus description :

"the mature stinkhorn is 10 to 30 cm (3.9 to 11.8 in) tall & 4 to 5 cm (1.6 to 2.0 in) in diameter, topped with a conical cap 2 to 4 cm (0.8 to 1.6 in) high that is covered with the greenish-brown slimy gleba. in older fungi the slime is eventually removed, exposing a bare yellowish pitted and ridged (reticulate) surface."

🤔

Guessing the name isn't as obvious as it looks.

Almindelig stinksvamp (Phallus impudicus)

More photos, yay! Mixed mushrooms that we photographed (all in the same day) in our favorite place ever, the beech forests in Aspromonte (Calabria, Italy).