''Mutinus caninus'', commonly known as the dog stinkhorn, is a small thin, phallus-shaped

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from t ...

, 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 An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

, although there are reports of the immature 'eggs' being consumed.

Taxonomy

The genus name ''Mutinus'' was a phallic deity, Mutinus Mutunus (known to the Greeks as Priapus), one of the Roman ''

di indigetes In classical Latin, the epithet ''Indiges'', singular in form, is applied to Sol ''(Sol Indiges)'' and to Jupiter of Lavinium, later identified with Aeneas. One theory holds that it means the "speaker within", and stems from before the recogniti ...

'' placated by Roman brides, and ''caninus'' means "dog-like" in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. ''Mutinus'' is the diminutive of ''muto'', a

word for

Penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

. It was described initially by William Hudson (1730–1793), a noted British botanist. Its common names in French, ''Phallus de Chien'', ''Satyre des chiens'', also hint at its resemblance to a

dog penis Canine reproduction is the process of sexual reproduction in domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes and other canine species. Canine sexual anatomy and development Male reproductive system Erectile tissue As with all mammals, a dog's penis is made up o ...

. It is commonly known as the "dog stinkhorn".

Description

This small member of the family

Phallaceae Phallaceae is a family of fungi, commonly known as stinkhorns, within the order Phallales. Stinkhorns have a worldwide distribution, but are especially prevalent in tropical regions. They are known for their foul-smelling, sticky spore masses ...

emerges from an off-white egg-like fruiting body that lies half buried in leaf litter on the woodland floor. White

mycelial cord Mycelial cords are linear aggregations of parallel-oriented hyphae. The mature cords are composed of wide, empty vessel hyphae surrounded by narrower sheathing hyphae. Cords may look similar to plant roots, and also frequently have similar function ...

s (rhizomorphs), are often visible beneath this 'egg', which is high, and wide. The 'egg' has a tough outer skin (peridium), which covers a gelatinous inner layer, which in turn protects the fully formed, but unexpanded fruiting body. When the ‘egg’ splits open the fungus expands rapidly (usually within a few hours), to its full height of . It is around thick, and is either yellowish-white, yellow, or pale orange. The split egg is retained as a volva-like sack, at the base. The column is very fragile, pitted, and cylindrical. It has a pointed tip, and is usually curved. The tip is covered in the spore bearing matter (

gleba Gleba (, from Latin ''glaeba, glēba'', "lump") is the fleshy spore-bearing inner mass of certain fungi such as the puffball or stinkhorn. The gleba is a solid mass of spores, generated within an enclosed area within the sporocarp. The contin ...

) which is a dark olive-brown paste, and has a smell which is irresistible to insects. (These insects help distribute the spores on their bodies, and in their stomachs.) Beneath the spore mass the tip is dark orange. Although its smell is not as strong as the related common stinkhorn (''

Phallus impudicus ''Phallus impudicus'', known colloquially as the common stinkhorn, is a widespread fungus in the Phallaceae (stinkhorn) family. It is recognizable for its foul odor and its phallic shape when mature, the latter feature giving rise to several ...

''), it has been described as smelling like cat faeces. American mycologist

Sanford Myron Zeller Sanford Myron Zeller (19 October 1885 – 4 November 1948) was an American mycologist. Born in Coldwater, Michigan, Zeller was educated at Lawrence College in Wisconsin, then Greenville College in Illinois, from which he received a Bachelor of S ...

described an albino form of the fungus based on collections made in Warrengon, Oregon. It is essentially identical to the regular form but pure white throughout, except for the gleba. This form, named ''M. caninus'' var. ''albus'', was first mentioned in the scientific literature by Edward Angus Burt in 1896.

Similar species

'' Mutinus ravenelii'' is pinker in coloration, with a red tip. It is a rarer American species, now spreading in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Another North American species '' Mutinus elegans'' is very similar to ''M. ravenelii'', and is short and stocky, with a more pointed apex.

Distribution and habitat

The dog stinkhorn is found occasionally, and is quite common in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, and Eastern North America. The fungus is listed in the

red data list The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

of the Ukraine. A collection from the Canary Islands was noted as the southernmost collection for the species in the Northern Hemisphere. It has also been collected in Iran, Turkey, and China, including

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

, and

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. It appears from summer to late autumn, and is usually found in small groups; in leaf litter; on wood debris, or wooded roadsides. It may occur in both

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

, and coniferous woods. The fruit bodies of the fungus can serve as a food source for thief ants and developing blow flies (''

Phormia regina ''Phormia regina'', the black blow fly, belongs to the blow fly family Calliphoridae and was first described by Johann Wilhelm Meigen. The black blow fly's wings are specialized with a sharp bend. These flies are also have well-developed calypt ...

'').

Edibility

The dog stinkhorn is probably

at the ‘egg’ stage, but it is not recommended. At least one report from in the eastern United States strongly recommends the 'eggs' peeled and fried as a tasty dish.

Gallery

Mutinus caninus 18.jpg Mutinus caninus 12.jpg Mutinus caninus 13.jpg Mutinus caninus 15.jpg Mutinus caninus in UK.JPG Mutinus caninus 16.jpg

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1500672 Phallales Fungi described in 1778 Fungi of Asia Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Taxa named by William Hudson (botanist)