It's strange looking. It smells bad. It attracts flies and it's growing in your garden. What the heck is it?
Lots of folks are seeing a strange, unusual and unsettling organism growing in their gardens these days. This carrot orange fungus with a dark green slimy cap looks almost pornographic as it grows, and then fades from your garden mulch. What is it?
Its a variety of fungus called the "Elegant Stinkhorn" a somewhat uncommon fungus which likes to surprise gardeners at this time of year. Like most fungi the ESH does no harm to the garden, and there are really no effective ways to rid yourself of the interesting visitor.
For More information on the Elegant Stinkhorn and other stinkhorns and mushrooms check out this site, or google "Stinkhorn" for more information.
What could be more fun than inviting your gardener friends over to see your "Stinkhorn?"
SG
doodles... hehe. I have yet to find one in my garden.
Posted by: mandy | July 30, 2008 at 08:08 AM
I found one of these "things" under my deck steps this morning. I live in southern Indiana and this has been a very wet spring and summer for the most part. My immediate thought was what alien had visited and planted it's seeds! It sure was a surprise. I am very environmentally oriented but I really wanted this thing gone! Thanks for the web notes so I can sleep knowing the aliens won't be back to nurture their young!
Posted by: vicki | July 24, 2008 at 09:33 AM
My stinkhorns are white with the black sticky cap. A different variety of stinkhorn?
Posted by: stell | October 07, 2007 at 01:28 PM
Ahhhh, so that's what it is....I first noticed it from afar and thought "what the heck are cheese doodles doing in my yard"....a close up look did indeed look pornographic...thank you so much for this info, I've never seen/heard of this before.
Posted by: Sophie | September 01, 2007 at 09:26 AM
I came out to my back yard one morning and saw (what I now know as a stinkhorn) a very strange looking (just one) orange thing that had flies all over it and it looked just like the provacative description another reader called it. I called it something else that starts with a "P" but I guess provacative is a better word for it. By the time I got home from work it had shriveled up. I took several pictures as proof that I didn't imagine it. I'm glad to know what it is....Sue
Posted by: Sue | July 28, 2007 at 10:32 AM
First time visitor, I had not heard of the elegant stinkhorn. I hope I don't find one in my yard anytime soon!
Posted by: Carol | August 08, 2006 at 08:11 PM