Dog Stinkhorn

Description:

Four inch tall red "spongey" mushroom. Mutinus caninus, commonly known as the dog stinkhorn, is a small thin, phallus-shaped woodland fungus, with a dark tip. It is often found growing in small groups on wood debris, or in leaf litter, during summer and autumn in Europe, Asia, and eastern North America. It is not generally considered edible, although there are reports of the immature 'eggs' being consumed.

Habitat:

growing in the grass at my sister's house on the bank of the Ohio River.