Question
Unknown Object in Gard
I am attaching an image of something that has suddenly appeared overnight (almost). It has a spongy feel to it and I am not sure if tis is a plant, emerging nest or parasite. Can you help please.
Thank you
AnswerThis is one of the stinkhorn mushroom. The stinkhorns probably take the prize for most phallic mushroom family, which is probably why the family is called "phallaceae". This one is a "dog stinkhorn" there's a very similar one called the "devil's dipstick" which is just a little thinner. There can be quite a bit of variation in color - sometimes the dog stinkhorns are very pale white with just a bit of pink near the tip.
It's not only their shape, it's also the fact that they've got a hole at the end which oozes a nasty looking liquid containing the spores. It's easy to smell it from 40 or 50 feet away, and flies just love it - this is how it disperses the spores.
Here is a web link that will give a little more information on these fungi.
http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/stinkhorn-mushroom-identification-...
