Major Groups > Stinkhorns > Ileodictyon gracile

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Ileodictyon gracile

[ Basidiomycota > Phallales > Clathraceae > Ileodictyon . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

One of Oceania's funky stinkhorns, Ileodictyon gracile looks like a graceful, white cage. Unlike many similar mushrooms, it often detaches itself from its base . . . which makes me wonder whether it rolls around like a tiny, stinky tumbleweed in Australian subdivisions. Ileodictyon cibarium is a similar species that features thicker, lumpier arms; it also appears in Oceania—although the latter species appears to be more common in New Zealand, while Ileodictyon gracile is more common in Australia. Both species appear to have been introduced to other parts of the world through human activity.

Have you collected Ileodictyon gracile recently? I would love to study well-documented, preserved collections, in order to make this page more scientific. If you're interested in helping, please send me an email at .

Description:

Note: I have not collected Ileodictyon gracile, nor have I studied preserved specimens; the description below is based on the photos (sent to me in emails) and the literature cited.

Ecology: Saprobic; growing alone or gregariously in woods or in cultivated areas; found year-round; originally described from Australia; also found in New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and South Africa.

Immature Fruiting Body: A whitish "egg" up to 3 cm high; surface smooth; when sliced revealing the stinkhorn-to-be encased in a brown, gelatinous substance; base attached to white rhizoids.

Mature Fruiting Body: A more or less round, cage-like structure, 4–20 cm across, forming 10–30 polygons; arms smooth, somewhat flattened, about 5 mm in diameter but thickened at the intersections, white underneath the spore slime; spore slime formed on the inner surfaces of the arms, olive brown; the egg tissue creating a whitish to brownish or purplish volva, but the mature structure often detaching from it.

Odor: Foul while the spore slime is present.

Microscopic Features: Spores 4.5–6 x 1.5–2.5 µm; ellipsoid; smooth; hyaline in KOH.


REFERENCES: M. J. Berkeley, 1845. (Lloyd, 1909; Cunningham, 1944/1979; Dring & Rose, 1977; Dring, 1980; Ka et al., 2004; Coetzee, 2010; Trierveiler-Pereira et al., 2014; Kibby, 2017.) I have not collected or studied this mushroom.


This website contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms.


 

Ileodictyon gracile

Ileodictyon gracile

Ileodictyon gracile

Ileodictyon gracile

Ileodictyon gracile



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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2022, August). Ileodictyon gracile. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/ileodictyon_gracile.html