‘Shamelessly phallic’, Phallus impedicus is not for the delicately dispositioned wanderer. We were having a wee daunder with Rosie in the woods, Malcolm off-piste fungi-finding, when he called me over…

He let me ‘find’ it for myself – the unmistakable stinkhorn!

Emerging from an equally reminicent ‘egg’ (or ‘witch’s egg’), the stinkhorn’s bell-shaped head is covered in an olive, foul smelling goo. I’ve heard the stench described as ‘eye-watering’, but it probably loses it’s pungency throughout the day. Our individual was only faintly fragrant. There were a fair few flies drawn to it though! The rotten-flesh odour attracts them, and their little feet get covered in the spore-laden goo, which they then spread about the place, as flies tend to do.

The egg, when all white and prior to ‘hatching’ is apparently edible, if not very tasty. And an aphrodisiac. We had a wee look about but didn’t see any others (with no intention of trying them out, I hasten to add)! There was a fair layer of leaf litter and we didn’t find any others.

There’s no doubting the common stinkhorn is an impressive specimen! Keep your eyes peeled if you go down to the woods today!