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Phallus hadriani
Phallus hadriani, commonly known as the dune stinkhorn, is a species of fungus in the Phallaceae family. It is a widely distributed species, and is native to Asia, Europe, and North America. In Australia, it is probably an introduced species. Wikipedia
Phallus hadriani is known to be in Australia (where it is thought to be an introduced species imported on woodchip mulch used in gardening and landscaping),[13] North America,[10] Europe (including Denmark,[18] Ireland,[19] Latvia,[20] The Netherlands,[21] Norway,[22] Poland,[23] Slovakia,[24] Sweden,[25] Ukraine,[26] and Wales[27]) Turkey (Iğdır Province),[11] Japan,[28] and China (Jilin Province).[29] Phallus hadriani is a saprobic species, and thus obtains nutrients by decomposing organic matter. In North America, it is commonly associated with tree stumps, or roots of stumps that are decomposing in the ground.[14] In Great Britain, its distribution is more or less restricted to coastal dunes,[30] while in Poland, it has been noted to avoid humid and humic forest soils, and live in symbiosis with xerophilous grasses and the black locust tree, Robinia pseudoacacia.[31] The mushroom is one of three species protected by the Red Data Book of Latvia.[20] Wikepedia
This is the second stinkhorn i've found in WA state in 12 months. The first I found near Lk. Roosevelt by seven bays marina. It was growing on a dry sandy hillside that was covered with mostly sage brush. I got some pictures but all i had was an old cell phone so the pictures dont do it justice. The one pictured here was found in Spokane WA in a wet grassy lawn in a shaded spot.
Spotted on Sep 18, 2012
Submitted on Sep 18, 2012
3 Comments
They do stink, it's their method of dispersing their spores:
"The method the stinkhorns use to disperse spores is quite ingenious, though a little disgusting to human sensibilities. The foul-smelling slime is calculated to attract flies and other insects, who land on the slime and gobble it up. Little do the insects know that they have been duped into covering their little insect feet with stinkhorn spores, and have ingested spores into their digestive tracts! Later, these spores are dispersed by the unwitting insects, and the stinkhorn life-cycle continues elsewhere."
After doing a little more research, it sounds like they are fairly common in WA state, and in grass. Sorry for the late response, I am going to start using this site more. And your page looks awesome! Great missions, posts, pics, notes, and spottings! :)
Do they really stink?
It surprises me that it was growong in the lawn. I didn't read anything saying it could/would grow there. It appears to me that this is a rare finding, considering all the factors of the area it was found!