This Friday’s fungus is phallus indusiatus, commonly known as bridal veil stinkhorn, basket stinkhorn, or veiled lady. It is characterised by a conical or bell-shaped cap on a stalk with a lacy white ‘skirt’ descending from the cap, called the indusium. The cap is covered in spore-containing gleba, the foul odour of which attracts flies and insects that eat and disperse the spores. The indusium’s purpose in phallus indusiatus is not definitively known, but it may serve to visually entice insects not attracted by the odour, or act as a ladder for crawling insects to reach the cap. Phallus indusiatus grows in tropical areas with rich soil and well-rotted woody material, and has been found in Africa, South and Central America, Asia, and Australia.
