Fungi Friday: Porn in the Forest!

As we set off on our favourite circular walk through the forest, we came across an unusual sight - stinkhorns! I had never seen them before, and I was sure they hadn't been there just a couple of days ago. It was amazing how quickly they had appeared.

I obviously couldn't help but notice that stinkhorns did indeed have a rather unusual appearance .... cough, cough. In the Victorian era (1837 to 1901), there was a common belief that stinkhorns had to be gotten rid of so that young ladies would not be exposed to them. How times have changed.

The stinkhorn didn't get its name for nothing as it indeed smelled of rotting something or other. The cap of the stinkhorn discharges a sticky substance that attracts flies and other insects, such as ants. These insects then help spread the spores of the fungi to other places, which in turn allows them to reproduce and grow. Source Nature is extremely clever.

This is my contribution to #fungifriday by @ewkaw.