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Podaxis pistillaris
about 10 cm in height, 5 cm in diameter; "On the ground. A common and persistent fungus in arid and semi-arid areas. This club-shaped puffball consists of a papery, elongated cap on a rigid, woody stem. The cap is white with shaggy scales, often with patches of brown and black. At maturity it splits and falls away to expose a brown-black spore mass." ~fungimap.org.au
desert mountain plain in St. Katherine's Protectorate after a relatively rainy winter
called in Arabic by the Bedouin "hyena's fart"
4 Comments
Oh, yes, I love that name, too! So called because these mushrooms seem to come out of nowhere...like the hyenas (used to) do.
I like the Bedouin name best of all. An interesting species. Well spotted, Bernadette.
Thanks, CorduneanuVlad! Confirmed that species in Egypt so will go with that ID for now.
Have a look at Podaxis pistillaris ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podaxis_pis... )