BASIDIOMYCETES: Phallales, Phallaceae

Ravenel’s Stinkhorn, Phallus ravenelii

Basidiomycetes, order: Phallales, family: Phallaceae

Height to 7"

Fruiting body begins as an egg-shaped mass from which emerges the stalk and head. Head is bulbous or conical, somewhat grainy, and covered in a slimy, green coating. At the apex is a small, whitish spot that opens to the tip of the stalk. Stalk is even along its length, white to pale yellow, with a white or pinkish, membranous basal cup or volva. The spores are embedded in the slime that covers the head, and insects attracted to its foul odor disperse the spores. It grows in rotting wood, humus, and sawdust piles in eastern North America during the fall. Not edible.