The genus ''Phallus'', commonly known as stinkhorns, is a group of basidiomycetes which produce a phallic, often foul-scented, mushroom, from which their name is derived. The genus has a widespread distribution and, according to a 2008 estimate, contains 18 species. They belong to the family Phallaceae in the order Phallales. The best known species (and type species) is the common stinkhorn ('' Phallus impudicus'').

History and taxonomy

The genus was first mentioned in the literature by the Dutch botanist

Hadrianus Junius Hadrianus Junius (1511–1575), also known as Adriaen de Jonghe, was a Dutch physician, classical scholar, translator, lexicographer, antiquarian, historiographer, emblematist, school rector, and Latin poet. He is not to be confused with several ...

(1511–1575), who, in 1564 wrote a short book published in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

on the ''Phallus in Hollandia'', describing a mushroom in the form of a penis. He was not convinced that the organism was fungal in nature:

... I am not sure that our Phallus falls within the class of the fungi. I will not definitely decide to place it there because I do not want to make a judgment before others who know more about the matter. The lightness, however, and looseness of the substance and (a necessary condition for the existence of sponges) the sour sap of the moist earth where it was born, all bear witness that it belongs to the family of the fungi. However, the folds and creases, which do not exist here, but do among fungi, bear witness against it. There is also no trace of the cap that is normally connected to the stalk. Here the hat takes the place of the cap, and it can be removed without damage. Moreover, the site where it lives also argues against it, because this plant can only be found in dunes, and only there where old marram grass grows. Fungi, on the other hand, as stated clearly by authors, live in swampy, dirty, and rotting moist places, such as close to the roots of oak trees.

In 1753, Carl Linnaeus used the genus name ''Phallus'' in his ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

''; the named was later sanctioned by Christian Hendrik Persoon when he used it in his 1801 ''Synopsis Methodica Fungorum''. Some authors have considered the presence of an indusium (a lacy "skirt" that hangs beneath the cap) to be an important taxonomic characteristic, and have placed taxa with indusia in a separate genus ''Dictyophora''. More recent publications suggest that there are close morphological similarities in ''Phallus'' species with and without an indusium, so the trend has been to merge ''Dictyophora'' into ''Phallus''; the online taxonomic databases Index Fungorum and MycoBank consider ''Dictyophora''

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''Phallus''.

Diversity

According to the German mycologist Hanns Kreisel, who surveyed the genus in 1996, there are 33 species. Of these, 3 species are limited to the New World, 18 to the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

, and another are 10 found in both hemispheres. His treatment divides the genus into five

subgenera In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

: ''Aporophallus''; ''Itajahya''; ''Endophallus''; ''Satyrus''; and ''Phallus''. Spanish mycologist

Francisco D. Calonge Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

recognized 25 species in 2005, while according to the ''Dictionary of the Fungi'' (10th ed, 2008), there are 18 species. Recently proposed species (not accounted for by these publications) include '' P. maderensis'' (2008), '' P. luteus'' (2009), '' P. drewesii'' (2009), and '' P. calongei'' (2009).

Description

The immature fruit bodies of ''Phallus'' species grow underground, are roughly spherical to ovoid, and have a soft or gelatinous surface. Conspicuous white

rhizomorph 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 functio ...

s extend from the base of this structure and help to anchor it in the soil. The outer tissue layer, or peridium, is white to pale, smooth, firm-membranous. The slimy

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

mass, or gleba, is attached to outer surface of the cap, and is colored dark olivaceous to blackish brown. The stalks of ''Phallus'' mushrooms are called ''receptacles'': they are upright, cylindrical, hollow, spongy, and bearing roughly bell-shaped cap with irregularly branching ridges on the outer surface. Some species have an ''indusium'', a net-like structure that extends from the cap to the ground. The gleba is slimy and pale greenish-yellow; in several species the gleba has a foul,

carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, c ...

-like odor, which attracts insects that then help disperse the spores. Mosquitoes, however, that feed on the gleba are killed, suggesting the fungus may contain compounds that could be used as an attractant or biocontrol agent. The spores of ''Phallus'' species are small,

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

, and somewhat translucent (

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

). The spores of various Phallaceae species, including ''P. ravenelii'' has been shown to be smooth and featureless using scanning electron microscopy. Roughened spore surfaces are considered by some mycologists to be an adaptation that results in friction during travel in the air, and increase dispersal distances. ''Phallus'' spores are not airborne at any time in their life cycle.

Nigerian folklore

The Yoruba people of Nigeria call stinkhorn mushrooms ''Akufodewa'', a combination of the words ''ku'' (die), ''fun'' (for), ''ode'' (hunter), and ''a'' (search). The Yoruban name reflects the belief that hunters, smelling the glebal odor in the forest, may mistake the smell for a dead animal and search for it. ''Phallus'' mushrooms are also used by the Yoruba to prepare a

charm Charm may refer to: Social science * Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others * Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear Science and technology * Charm quark, a type of elementary particle * Ch ...

known as ''Egbe'', which reputedly "has the power of making one invisible in the face of danger." Stinkhorns are also used by the Urhobo and

Ibibio people The Ibibio people (English: / ɪbɪˈbiːəʊ/) are a coastal people in southern Nigeria. They are mostly found in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. They are related to the Efik people. During the colonial period in Nigeria, the Ibibio Union as ...

of southeastern Nigeria to prepare "harmful charms". They associate the fungus with the millipede, as is reflected in their names for the mushrooms: the Urhobo call it ''Uwovwi-rerivwi'', from the Urhobo ''Uwivwi'' (house), ''re'' (of), ''rivwe'' (millipede); the Ibido name is ''Efoketim'', from the Ibidio ''efok'' (house) and ''etim'' (millipede). The Ụkwụànì of

Asaba Asaba is the capital city of Delta State, Nigeria. It is located at the western bank of the Niger River, in the Oshimili South Local Government Area. Asaba had a population of 149,603 as at the 2006 census, and a metropolitan population of o ...

, who associate the stinkhorns with death because of their smell, use the fungus to prepare "harmful charms and charms which confer immunity against evil attacks." They call the mushrooms ''Oga-egungun'', from the Ụkwụànì ''oga'' (net or fence) and ''egungun'' (dead person).

Habitat

''Phallus'' mushrooms are found amongst leaf litter in damp woodland with the rhizomorphs attached to buried wood. The genus has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

, but with richer species diversity in tropical regions.

Species

# # # # # # # – Vietnam # # # # # # # # # description 2016, Yunnan Province # # Also known as bamboo fungus, bamboo pith, long net stinkhorn, crinoline stinkhorn or veiled lady # A new combination proposed in 2008 for the fungus formerly known as ''Dictyophora indusiata'' f. ''lutea''. # # # Found by Francisco Calonge and Hanns Kreisel and first reported in 2002. # # This species is a miniature ''Phallus'' (up to 1 cm tall) found in the Brazilian State Pernambuco. # – Ravenel's stinkhorn # #

References

External links

Mushroom Expert.com: Phallaceae order
— ''with information on Phallus genus'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q2064470 Phallales Agaricomycetes genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus