After a good dose of rain and a weekend free of trampling
feet, the lawn at Aldo Leopold Nature Center has burst with mushrooms of all
sorts. Perhaps the most eye-catching are these stinkhorns, with their orange
stalks and caps covered with brown slime. Though I’m no mushroom expert, I think
these stinkhorns are devil’s stinkhorns (Phallus
rubicundus) because they have a distinguishable cap, unlike the
similar-looking elegant stinkhorns (Mutinus
elegansi). Both have a slimy brown spore mass on the top, which is
dispersed by feasting flies. The range of devil’s stinkhorn in the United
States used to be limited to the south, but it has made its way to the
northeast and midwest in transported mulch. Indeed, these individuals were
sprouting near a pile of wood chips. Apparently many gardeners lament the
arrival of such sprouting specimens, but I think they’ll provide a good look
into the world of fascinating fungi for visitors to the nature center.
No comments:
Post a Comment