Phallus multicolor Cattana Wetlands

Posting two photos of a fungus commonly seen in mulch, and a most maligned one at that. People complain they stink and I suppose these phalluses have a characteristic smell but I don't think it is objectionable. These two are shorter than normally and I think it is because they did not have enough water. Both are a bit malformed phalluses, one where the head or cap is off centre, and the other which has something on the cap which could be another fungus like Fuligo or remnants of the volva/egg from which it emerged.

 

These fungi, sometimes called stinkhorns, emerge early in the mornings, stand erect with the gleba (the dark stuff) in the head that contains the spores - flies eat the gleba and spread the spores - then later in the day when the spores have been eaten, the phallus loses its strength and subsides and leans over. The stem of the fungus is spongy and has vertical supports inside. Most phalluses have a skirt or indusium or "crinoline" which joins under the head and which can vary a bit in colour and may be short or full length.

Done