Mutinus caninus

Scientific name: Mutinus caninus (Huds.) Fr. 
Derivation of name:  Mutinus was a Roman phallic
deity and means "penis," cani- means "dog."
Synonyms: Phallus caninus Huds.  
Common name(s):  Dog stinkhorn.
Phylum:   Basidiomycota
Order:   Phallales
Family:   Phallaceae
Occurrence on wood substrate: Saprobic; solitary or
grouped on soil, mulch, wood chips, and decaying wood;
August through October.   
Dimensions: Fruit body 7-12 cm tall and 1-2 cm wide.
Description:  Fruit body at first a white to pinkish egg-like
stage, resembling a puffball. The "egg" is attached to the
substrate by white mycelial strands (rhizomorphs). The outer
wall (peridium) of the "egg" splits and a hollow, spongy,
stalk expands. The stalk may be whitish below and orangish
to orange-red towards the tip or uniformly white or
uniformly colored. The stalk is more or less the same
thickness right up to the slightly swollen apex which quickly
tapers to a point. A slimy, olive-brown, fetid spore mass
covers the upper 1/4 or less (2-3 cm) of the fruit body.   
Edibility:  The egg stages are edible.        
Comments: Flies are attracted to the fetid slimy mass
and serve to disperse the spores. This species and two
closely related species - M. elegans and M. ravenelii may
be difficult to cleanly separate from each other. M. caninus
var. albus, a completely white variety of M. caninus, is
distinctive. Based on iNaturalist records, M. caninus is the
least common of the three species. Consult the website
below for additional comments on these three species.

More information at MushroomExpert.com:
More information at TomVolkFungi.net:   
    


Figure 1. This is a miserable picture of a specimen
from a NEMF foray. Note the small proportion of the
stipe occupied by the olive-green spore mass.
Photo © Gary Emberger.

Figure 2. John Plischke III tentatively identified this
specimen as Mutinus caninus. It could be M. ravenelii.
Photo © John Plischke III.

Figure 2. A specimen with an entirely white stipe.
This is sometimes called Mutinus caninus var.
albus. Photo © Steve Nelsen.

Figure 3. Specimens and "eggs" of Mutinus caninus var.
albus. Only M. caninus has a white variant.
Photo © Steve Nelsen.