Stinkhorn

Stinkhorn - Phallus impudicus

Description

The fruiting body emerges from an 'egg' usually buried just under the leaf litter.  It then grows into a tall whitish phalloid strucutre capped by an olive-green spore-mass or gleba that smells of rotting meat, attracting flies.  The sticky gleba adheres to their legs.  Once the flies have dispersed the spores, the honeycombed head is revealed.   

Designation

Indicator Species - Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

Identification difficulty
Recording advice

Photograph in habitat; note substrate and habitat.

Habitat

Coniferous and deciduous woods, and other wooded areas.

When to see it

summer and autumn

UK Status

Frequent throughout Britain

VC55 Status

Fairly common in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Additional images

All NatureSpot records