Island Of Misfits

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Some mushrooms resemble human penises; it is a fact generally unmentioned by polite society, but difficult to ignore, especially for species like Phallus impudicus, which is actually difficult to describe any other wayPhallus impudicus: All About The Stinky ***** Mushroom. Mature specimens look like an unusually long and somewhat thin *****, and they don’t look like anything else. That the species has a habit of suddenly fruiting in otherwise-respectable lawns and gardens only adds to the social awkwardness. Its scientific name literally means “immodest *****,” and “***** mushroom” is one of its common names, so it’s not like anyone has not noticed the resemblance.

That is why readers are encouraged to get their giggles out of the way now, so we can get on with discussing a mushroom that is also interesting for other reasons. There will be no off-color puns or innuendos here.

Another common name, “common stinkhorn,” refers to the species’ scent rather than its shape; stinkhorns as a group are notable for having spores that are dispersed by flies rather than by wind, and the mushroom recruits flies by mixing its spores in a layer of slime that smells very strongly of rotting animal flesh. The spores and their slime are exuded by the outer surface of the cap, making it appear smooth. Once most of the slime has been removed by flies, the cap surface is revealed to be pitted, very much like a morel—stinkhorns are even referred to as morels in some older sources. The names ***** Mushroom, Common Stinkhorn and Phallus impudicus all refer to the same mushroom and will be used interchangeably throughout this article.

Phallus impudicus grows across North America and Europe, and despite its scent at maturity, it is edible, especially when young. It is even popular in some parts of Europe. It also has some traditional medicinal uses, and while some of these are doubtful, there is evidence that it could be used to prevent thrombosis in breast cancer survivors
Edible? No I don’t think so. I had the little ones like in my first pic they got bigger and stunk really bad on their last days
 

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