About this fungus
Elegant Stinkhorn is a fungus in the Phallaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A vivid pink-orange to red-orange column that can rise from mulch within a few hours. The hollow, spongy fruit body is usually thickest around the middle and tapers towards both ends. Its upper third to half is coated in sticky olive-green or greenish-brown spore slime, producing the smell that attracts flies and other spore-carrying insects.
What to check
Look for a single rough or pebbly column without a separate cap. The fertile upper part continues directly from the stalk and narrows to a small opening at the tip. At ground level, a mature fruit body emerges from a tough, wrinkled white sac left by the original egg. There is no ring. The extent of the spore slime, the tapered outline and whether the upper end forms a distinct swollen head help separate similar Mutinus species.
Lookalikes
Ravenel's Stinkhorn, Mutinus ravenelii, is usually less evenly tapered and has a more clearly swollen fertile head. Dog Stinkhorn, Mutinus caninus, is generally smaller and paler, with a shorter, more distinct fertile tip. Phallus stinkhorns have a separate cap-like head rather than spore slime coating a continuous tapered column. Species concepts have varied between regions, so unusually shaped collections may need microscopy or DNA rather than a photograph alone.
Habitat and range
Saprotrophic in rotting plant material, especially landscaping mulch and woodchips, old stumps, buried branches, leaf litter, compost-rich soil and disturbed garden ground. It often appears after warm wet weather and can fruit alone or in loose groups. The species is best documented in North America and has also been reported from other regions, sometimes as an introduction. Closely similar Mutinus should be checked with a regional guide.
Food safety
Edibility is uncertain or disputed.