Family: Phallaceae

Fungi:> Basidiomycota:> Agaricomycetes:> Gomphales:> Phallaceae:> Aseroe, Clathrus, Ileodictyon, Pseudocolus, Mutinus.

This family is one of the most strange in the fungus kingdom. Its members attract insects most often flies, for spore dispersal and to this end they mimic the smell of dung. Soon after hatching, the stench from the stink horn is detected by insects which come to feed on it, and when they leave they carry away spores on theirs bodies and in what they eat, to be deposited later far away from the parent fungus. Snails and slugs also help with spore dispersal.

Genus: Aseroe

Genus: Clathrus

This fungi comes in a widely deferent forms some times with a long stipe and long orange tentacles. While at other times it has a relatively short, wide stipe with long red tentacles or a mixture of these basic shapes. Its believed that the orange tentacle are the result of nutrient deficiencies.
Aseroe rubra			Clathrus archeri	Clathrus chrysomycelinus

Unidentified

Odd Colours

This Clathrus species below seems to be a mystery. Some consider it to be a large Aseroe rubra others a Clathrus archer but nether seams to fit their descriptions well. It has become common around the Auckland region in the past 20 years with the popularity of using wood chip mulch.			On occasions you come across odd coloured stinkhorn's generally these are ether yellow or orange rather then the usual red. I' am told this is the result of a mineral deficiency in the substrate yet I have never seen any research on this.
Clathrus species

Genus: Ileodictyon

Lysurus

Ileodictyon cibarium is the common basket fungus found in both native bush and wood chip mulch. Recently a new species has been found in sand dunes which is very similar but not documented.			A rare genus with only one previously recorded species found in New Zealand. Very likely this is an introduced species found in grasslands.
Ileodictyon cibarium			Lysurus cruciatus

Genus: Pseudocolus

Genus: Mutinus

Pseudocolus garciae

Mutinus species

Mutinus ravenelii

Genus: Protubera

Protubera nothofagi

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