About this fungus
Lantern Stinkhorn is a fungus in the Phallaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A small but striking stinkhorn with a pink to orange-red, deeply ribbed stem. Four to six ribs continue into arms that usually meet at the tip, producing a pointed lantern shape streaked with foul-smelling olive-brown spore slime.
What to check
A mature fruit body has a four- to six-sided hollow stem, with deep longitudinal grooves between the ribs. The ribs extend into four to six arms that normally remain joined at their tips. Dark-brown to olive-brown gleba lies mainly in the sunken inner faces between the ribs, leaving the outer rib crests clearer. At the base, look for remains of the white egg as a small volval cup attached to pale cords. There are no gills and no stem ring.
Variation
The stem and arms range from pale pink through orange to rose-red, and old arms may separate or collapse. Flies remove much of the gleba, so older specimens become less dark and less strongly scented. Unexpanded fruit bodies remain enclosed in a small white gelatinous egg and lack the diagnostic mature outline.
Lookalikes
Lysurus cruciatus and Lysurus borealis have a rounder, less strongly ribbed stem and their arms tend to spread rather than forming the same clasped lantern. Lysurus periphragmoides develops a rounded lattice above the stem. Egg-stage stinkhorns are difficult to identify to species from the outer surface alone, so mature structure is the more useful field evidence.
Habitat and range
Saprobic on decaying organic matter in wood-chip mulch, compost, forest litter, gardens, nurseries, lawns and other disturbed ground. It is recorded in Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa and North America and is considered introduced in parts of that range. It fruits in warm weather and may appear year-round in warm climates.
Food safety
Edible.
Use this profile to learn what to examine and compare, not as proof that a mushroom is safe to eat. Check the whole specimen and every important lookalike before reaching an identification.