Stinkhorn query

[Ron Nash]

Please help with these questions about this:

We photographed this Stinkhorn over two mornings (October 29th and 30th).
How long does it take for the cap to change colour?
What is the stem covered with?


Stinkhorn and Stinkhorn cap (October 29th).


Stinkhorn and Stinkhorn stem (October 30th).

Any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Ron.

[solus]

When it first emerged (before you arrived with your camera!) the "head"/cap would have been covered with a dark olive-green gooey substance with a rather unpleasant smell (like rotting flesh) which is very rapidly removed by flies attracted by the odour: it sticks to their legs and bodies and gets carried off, hence spreading the spores. The fungus is then left as you have found it. The "stem" is like that from the start, when it emerges from the "egg" stage, sort of honeycombed and open-textured. Have a look in the fungus Gallery where there are several photos covering all stages in the Stinkhorn's visible life-cycle.

[Ron Nash]

solus,

Thanks for your extremely quick reply; I thought that the dark cap was at the end of the cycle, not the beginning.

Ron.

The more you learn, the more you want to know.