Common Stinkhorn

Phallus impudicus

Inedible

Also called stinkhorn.

The common stinkhorn is a tall, white, spongy stalk with a slimy olive-brown head that smells of carrion. It emerges from a white, egg-like sac in woods, gardens and wood-chip mulch. Flies feed on the slime and carry off its spores.

A common stinkhorn with a white spongy stem and a dark olive slimy cap rising from pine needles

The tell

A white, spongy stalk topped by a head coated in olive-brown slime that smells of rotting meat.

Field marks

What to look at

Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.

Cap
A conical to bell-shaped head with a honeycomb-like, pitted surface, covered in dark olive-brown, foul-smelling slime. The top has a small white rim around an opening.
Underside
No gills or pores. Spores are carried in the slime on the head.
Stem
White, hollow, spongy and fragile, rising from a white, soft, egg-like sac (volva) at the base that stays as a cup.
Flesh
Spongy and white in the stalk. The unopened egg contains a jelly-like layer around the folded stalk. Smell of carrion when mature.
Spore print
Not taken; the spores are in the olive-brown slime.
Size
Mature stinkhorn 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 cm) tall; egg 1 to 2 1/2 inches (3 to 6 cm) across.

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
Woods, gardens, lawns and landscaped beds, especially in wood-chip mulch and rich soil near rotting wood.
Grows on
Soil, buried wood and mulch.
Season
Summer through fall.
Range
Reported across much of North America; other stinkhorns are often recorded under this name.

Lookalikes

What the common stinkhorn gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

  1. Compare side by side

  3. Ravenel's stinkhorn (Phallus ravenelii)

    A common eastern stinkhorn whose head is granular rather than pitted under the slime, with a pinkish to lilac egg.

  4. Dog stinkhorn (Mutinus elegans)

    A slender pink to orange stalk with no separate head, the slime coating only its tapered tip.

Edibility

What the field guides say

Inedible

Field guides list the mature common stinkhorn as inedible because of its slime and smell. It is not known to be toxic, and some European sources record the egg stage being eaten. Its eggs resemble the young stages of deadly Amanitas, which contain amatoxins.

This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.

FAQ

Questions about the common stinkhorn

Why does a stinkhorn smell so bad?

The slime on its head smells of rotting meat, which attracts flies. The flies feed on the slime and spread spores stuck to their bodies.

Are stinkhorns poisonous?

The common stinkhorn is not known to be toxic. Field guides list the mature fungus as inedible. Its unopened eggs can resemble the eggs of deadly Amanitas.

Why do stinkhorns grow in mulch?

Stinkhorns break down dead wood, and wood-chip mulch gives them a rich, moist supply. They often appear in landscaped beds in summer and fall.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  1. Phallus impudicus

    MushroomExpert.com

  2. Phallus impudicus

    Index Fungorum

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