Stinkhorn Mushrooms: Smelling Up your Garden

Do you have a repugnant smell in your garden? Check around and see if you find something even stranger growing near that smell. They could be stinkhorn mushrooms. Learn more about that stinky fungi in this blog post.

What are Stinkhorns?

These bizarre-looking mushrooms are unforgettable due to their appearance and unpleasant smell. Humorously, these mushrooms belong to the family Phallales and they are quite phallic-looking. They can be white, red, orange, beige, or a combination of these colors. They have a white, black, brown, or grey cap.

Where Do They Grow?

They are saprophytic fungi which means that they feed on dead material rather than living tissue like some of the plant diseases. They prefer rotting organic matter, especially wood.

They also tend to thrive in areas with a lot of moisture. It can occur in mulch, lawns, vegetable gardens, and areas with bare soil. I recently saw them on the outside of a greenhouse in some weeds.

What is the White Stringy Stuff in Mulch?

If you have ever dug into your mulch and saw white, stingy material, that is fungus. It may not necessarily be this fungus, it is the matted fibers (called mycelia) of the vegetative stage of fungi. It helps break down the mulch so that it releases its nutrients back into the soil. It’s a good thing!

Why Do Flies Go to It?

When this fungus is ready to reproduce, that is when you will see these fungal bodies develop above the ground. Its scent attracts insects, such as flies, that feed on the slimy mass and carry its spores to other areas where it begins life again. This is similar to some plants that are quite stinky, like the enormous corpse flower, and the pollination done by flies (not bees in this case).

So How Do you Control Stinkhorns?

Honestly, the reproductive stage of stinkhorns is very quick so they will naturally disappear in a short period. Feel free to remove the mushrooms especially if they are too unsightly or stinky, too many flies are around, or you are afraid that children or animals will eat them. To ease your mind, stinkhorns are not poisonous and some are a delicacy in Europe and Asia.

Keep in mind that removing the reproductive structure does not eliminate them. There is a web of hyphae in the soil or mulch, so most likely, they will be back.

You could possibly remove some of the organic matter that they are living in or reduce the amount of soil moisture in that area. The hyphae of fungi can spread pretty far so you are not likely to eliminate them completely even by removing the soil or mulch. In case you are wondering, there are not fungicides that you can apply.

If you can’t get rid of them, then appreciate them for all they are worth. You can snap a picture of them, post it to social media, and get a laugh if they continue to appear.