Phallus rubicundus

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***Phallus rubicundus*** is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn family. First described in 1811, it has a wide distribution in tropical regions. It has the typical stinkhorn structure consisting of a spongy stalk up to Template:Convert tall arising from a gelatinous "egg" up to Template:Convert in diameter. Atop the stalk is a pitted, conical cap that has a foul-smelling, gelatinous, green spore mass spread over it.

## Taxonomy

The species was first described under the name *Satyrus rubicundus* by French botanist Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc in 1811, from collections made in South Carolina. It was later transferred to the genus *Phallus* in 1823 by Elias Fries. Synonyms include binomials resulting from the transfer to *Ithyphallus* by Eduard Fischer in 1888, and to *Leiophallus* by Émile-Victor Mussat in 1900.

## Description

 File:Phallus rubicundus 154005.jpg
Immature (unopened) specimens of *Phallus rubicundus* are spherical to egg-shaped, whitish, and measure Template:Convert long by Template:Convert wide. They occur singly or in groups of two to six eggs that are formed from a common mycelium. They are attached to the substrate by a cordlike rhizomorph. After expanding, the fruit bodies are up to Template:Convert tall, and consist of a hollow cylindrical stalk supporting a conical to bell-shaped cap. The orange to scarlet stalk tapers towards to top, and has a pitted surface. The wrinled cap is scarlet red, and measures Template:Convert high by Template:Convert wide. It is initially covered with a foetid, slimy grayish-olive gleba. The egg case remains at the base of the stalk as a volva. The spores are smooth, elliptical, and measure 3.6–4.2 by 1.6–2.0 μm.

*Phallus rubicundus* is often confused with the similar *Mutinus elegans*, but the latter species does not have a clearly separated cap, and instead bears its gleba on the apex of its pointed stalk.

## Uses

In the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, where it is known locally as*jhiri pihiri*, it is used by two primitive forest tribes, the Bharia and the Baiga, as a treatment against typhoid, and also by the Baiga to treat labour pain. The fungus is prepared by grinding and mixing with sugar-cake, and one teaspoon is administered three times daily. The fungus has been reported to have been used by Aboriginal Australians as an aphrodisiac.

One study noted that mosquitoes, attracted to the smell of the gleba, perish after consuming it, and so the fungus may be suitable for further investigating as a biocontrol agent.

## Ecology and distribution

The fungus is saprobic, and grows in sandy soils, lawns, gardens, and yards, especially those that are well-manured or use wood mulch. It is widely distributed in southern and eastern United States (including Hawaii), having possibly been spread through the use of imported wood mulch in landscaping. In Australia it grows mainly in the tropics and subtropics, in areas where rotten wood and/or mulch are present. In Asia, it has been recorded from China, Japan, Korea, India, and Thailand. African locales include Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Kenya, and South Africa. It is also known from South America (Argentina and Brazil) and the Caribbean. The fungus was featured on a Sierra Leonean postage stamp in 1993.

## References

1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Bosc 1811`
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `urlKuo`
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Fries 1823`
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `urlMycoBank: Phallus rubicundus`
5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Long 1907`
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Dissing 1962`
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Hemmes 2002`
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Rai 1993`
9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Cambie 1997`
10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Gardezi 1992`
11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Fuhrer 2005`
12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Huang 1985`
13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Kasuya 2007`
14. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Wojewoda 1993`
15. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Ellingsen 1982`
16. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Dring 1977`
17. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Williams 1991`
18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `De Toledo 1995`
19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Bonini 1984`
20. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Moss 1998`

## External links

* Template:IndexFungorum

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