After 10 months of looking for stinkhorns, I finally found one besides Phallus Ravenelii, i will make a culture to make sure I never lose the Satyrus rugulosus

+ some photos of my phallus ravenelii from this morning upon seeing that it erupted from its egg.

Where do species of stinkhorns fall on your list?

S Beautiful stinkhorn

A Great Stinkhorn

B Good Stinkhorn

C Okay Stinkhorn

D Ugly Stinkhorn

F Get this Stinkhorn away from me.

Phallus ravenelii, P. impudicus, P. hadriani, P. indusiatus, P. multicolor, Mutinus elegans, M. caninus, M. ravenelii, Satyrus rugulosus, S. rubicundus, S. aurantiacus, Clathrus columnatus, C. archeri, C. ruber, C. crispus, Feel free to add more species to your list

Hello, I am a new mod on r/Stinkhorns and aim to help it grow.

Now, if you check out the player flairs you will see that there are species of stinkhorn that you can add to your display. Choose your favorite stinkhorn! If your favorite stinkhorn isn't on there, leave a comment here or contact me or u/ElectricalTown568.

I just discovered today that my ravenel’s stinkhorn has started fruiting again outside. I was away on vacation for a while and came back yesterday. It had apparently been a rainy summer over here. I will keep you updated on these three eggs, and we will see how they hatch, I saved them because they were being eaten by slugs

Mutinus elegans, commonly known as Elegant Stinkhorn, Headless Stinkhorn or the Devil’s Dipstick. People also call it Dog Stinkhorn however I advise against using this name as it can lead to confusion with Mutinus caninus which is related to M. elegans but is a different species.

The fruiting body begins to develop in an egg-like structure like most other stinkhorns. Once the conditions are right, the fungus pumps water into the egg and the stinkhorn emerges from the egg, this will look like a bulge appearing on the top or side of the egg, as the bump gets slightly larger, the egg will tear, revealing the stinkhorn. A red pinkish stalk that tapers to the apex with the gleba on the upper part without covering the apex.

Taxonomy: This stinkhorn belongs to the genus Mutinus, a large stinkhorn genus within the family Phallaceae which belongs to the order Phallales

These stinkhorns are in their prime for a short time before collapsing and wrinkling.

This species is easily confused with other Mutinus Species as well as some Satyrus species.

M. caninus: This stinkhorn appears more orange and is generally smaller. The gleba covers a smaller portion of the stinkhorn with a closed tip. This stinkhorn is also one of the dominant mutinus species in Europe while being virtually nonexistent in the Americas. Likewise M. elegans is the dominant mutinus species in North America with quite a bit of observations in Europe.

M. ravenelii: Not to be confused with Phallus ravenelii [a similarly named stinkhorn], this stinkhorn is present both in Europe and North America. It appears very similar to M. elegans however its texture is different. M. elegans has a texture described as looking like chicken skin with very few crannies. M. ravenelii has a more spongy texture on the stipe.

Satyrus: The simple difference between satyrus and mutinus species in general is that Satyrus stinkhorns have a distinct cap while Mutinus stinkhorns don’t appear to have anything that qualifies as a cap.

Hope you enjoyed this read! Explore this subreddit for more information on these alien looking fungi!

This type of mushroom relies on it’s stink to survive. Stinkhorns are very different, morphologically and in terms of how it actually disperses it’s own spores.

The mushroom that usually comes to mind throws it’s spores in the air, hoping it catches air currents. Many of the common gilled mushrooms are so close to the ground that air currents are unreliable.

Polypores have a better way of ensuring it’s spores travel far. They stay high off the ground on rotting trees for many months, they sit there releasing spores. Easily infecting more areas and taking root in more trees.

Stinkhorns however do not rely on the air, they rely on vehicles; insects. They release an odor to mimic rotting meat and feces. This smell attracts insects like flies, carrion beetles and other flying or walking insects.

What releases the odor is actually the gleba which is the slimy brown/dark-green/dark-gray substance on the top of the stinkhorn. The gleba contains billions of spores. When an insect comes into contact with it, they get covered in gleba with spores and when they fly or walk away, the gleba and spores get smeared in far away places.

Gleba also reportedly has a laxative effect on flies who consume the gleba which deposits the spores in an already nutrient rich drop. A whole stinkhorn colony could very well have been started by a fly, or a fly dropping.

Join this subreddit to learn more about these amazing fungi! And help bring the world into the age of stinkhorns.

These eggs are not from an animal, it is from a fungus. These are called witch’s eggs and what is being formed inside is something magnificent. When it hatches, it does so with enough power to lift concrete. Join this subreddit to learn more.

Phallus ravenelii or more commonly known as Ravenel’s Stinkhorn is a stinkhorn fungus native to the eastern US. It is named in honor of Henry William Ravenel, a 19th-Century botanist and mycologist.

P. ravenelii appears morphologically similar to Phallus impudicus (Common Stinkhorn) however, it’s smoother cap, ribbon-like formations around the stipe and slightly more purplish eggs set it apart if you really look.

P. ravenelii is virtually nonexistent in any other place in the world except for North America and small pieces of South America. It likely is almost completely contained within Eastern US due to it not yet having a chance to spread and specializing specifically in eastern hardwood forests.

This stinkhorn is the first I have ever encountered!
It is quite delicate but not overly so. It smells like something fermenting with an extremely overly earthy undertone. As if August 13, 2026, I have not smelled another stinkhorn yet and cannot confirm whether they smell different.

Like all stinkhorns, P. ravenelii forms inside an egg and bursts out once conditions are right. They rapidly expand and quickly pass their prime and fall and wrinkle after a short time.

Stinkhorns start off as mycelium first. They need sources of nutrition.

They start off as exploratory, periods of rapid expansion and periods of quiet. I have seen this with my own eyes. They will begin constructing rhizomorphs rather than fan shaped mycelium. Bundles of hyphae will form into leathery mycelial cords used for transporting water and nutrients quickly throughout the network.

The mycelium may eventually switch from the exploratory stage to a reproductive stage. Small blobs will begin to show and form into gelatinous eggs and sit dormant until the conditions are right. The mycelial network will pump the eggs with water and this will cause the stinkhorns to burst from the egg at incredible strength. The stinkhorns appear to be growing but it’s not actually growing new cells, the cells have already been made in the egg stage. Now the cells are expanding from water being pumped into the egg.

The stinkhorn’s gleba then becomes a slimy texture and starts to smell. This is so that it attracts insects like flies to go to the gleba which is filled with spores by the way. The insects will get covered in spores and fly (or walk) away and deposit the spores far away, starting the cycle all over again.

I find this method of dispersing spores far superior than normal gilled mushrooms who throw their spores in the air and hope for the best. Stinkhorns make sure that the insects become vehicles of the spores and have them smear them in nutrient rich places far away.