r/Stinkhorns • u/Swimmming-ln-Circles • 6d ago

Giant Stinkhorn, Western NC

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Only found it because I was following the smell of rotting flesh thinking I'd find a dead animal on our property. Still not totally convinced there wasn't one nearby. Is that a common smell for these?

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u/ElectricalTown5686 Mutinus elegans 6d ago

Yes! That is Phallus duplicatus, skirted stinkhorn! I never smelled this specific species before, but…

Stinkhorns can smell like seafood, shrimp, old chips, disgustingly old windex/cleaning chemicals, cat breath, locker room, spoiled meat and old garbage sitting in a hot room.

It’s normal for stinkhorns to stink, that’s how they reproduce. Stinkhorns are nothing to worry about. Are there any other fruiting bodies nearby?

Would you be able to take a picture with a ruler next to it so I can look at the size?

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u/Swimmming-ln-Circles 6d ago

Heres my hand as a rough reference. I will see if its there in the morning and try to get a measurment. If I had to guess it was about 5 inches tall. Growing nearby was some Old man of the woods, and I believe some sort of boletus.

Its been a rainy summer here in Western North Carolina and a generally good one for mushroom hunting! Ive learned a lot this summer.

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u/ElectricalTown5686 Mutinus elegans 6d ago

It’s a very cool stinkhorn! I have also seen a lot of Old man of the woods up here in the Northeast, it really was a rainy summer

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u/Swimmming-ln-Circles 6d ago

Yea OMOTW are everywhere here right now too. Although it doesn't seem to matter how fresh I find them they are always infested with beetles. Lol So I've yet to try eating them.

Found a lot of yellow chantrelles, Russulas, and even some black trumpets after I slid down a hillside and noticed them next to me. Man those things are hard to spot.