Yup, Mutinus caninus. I almost mistook them for Phallus rubicundus but there was definitely an unmistakable “canine thrust” to this particular fungi I found growing in one of the pots housing my cherry tomatoes.
Took a little googling to finally id the suckers and it wasn’t until I used the very professional search term of “pink fungus that oozes green slime” that I got some decent hits. My Library Science profs would be oh so proud…heh. I don’t feel too bad about searching with that term as I noticed later on Flickr that “Your Neighborhood Librarian” from Maryland, googled “dog penis mushroom” in her search for this fungi (of course that would have been my next search if the first one hadn’t worked out! haha).
I love this article/description from Mushrom Expert:
Stinkhorns frequently bewilder people by popping up in lawns, thrusting their slime-covered tips into the world within a matter of hours. They have been much maligned over the years, probably because–well, because they stink and they often look like penises (human, canine, or alien). Unlike other mushrooms, the stinkhorn distributes its spores by applying an odorous, spore-thick slime to its tip, which flies and other insects are attracted to. The flies then carry the spores to other places.
Several stinkhorns are common in North America, including the aptly named Phallus impudicus and the netted stinkhorn, Phallus duplicatus. Among the stinkhorns, species of Mutinus are fairly unique in their appearance: they look like pinkish to orangish spikes which arise from whitish “eggs” in the ground, and they are initially covered with brown or olive brown slime (before being ravaged by flies). Unlike Phallus species, which mimic human anatomy, Mutinus species have more of a canine thrust. The description below combines Mutinus elegans, Mutinus caninus, and Mutinus ravenelii, which stinkhorn specialists (there really are such people) consider to be separate species.
Very Strange are the things that sometimes voluntarily grow in my “garden.” The Hunter Valley Backyard Nature site is right about the emerging, elongating, wilt, and decay all within a few hours. I noticed them on my way to the store and by the time I got back (about an hour later) and shot the photos below, they had already begun to wilt. I wonder if any others will pop up.
Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Order: Phallales
Family: Phallaceae
synonyms: Dog Stinkhorn, Hundsrute, Phallus de Chien, Satyre des cheins
