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Phallus duplicatus (Dictyophora duplicata) [ Basidiomycetes > Phallales > Phallaceae > Phallus . . . ] by Michael Kuo As if stinkhorns like Phallus impudicus and Mutinus elegans weren't odd enough, this incredible mushroom had to go and add "adorned with a lace doily" to the list of possible stinkhorn features--along with the old standbys (being covered with a foul-smelling slime, arising from little underground "eggs," growing to full size fast enough that you can actually get the lawnchairs out and watch it happen, and so on). Sometimes called the "Netted Stinkhorn," Phallus duplicatus frequently grows in urban habitats in eastern North America. It is easily distinguished from the other North American stinkhorns by its astonishing net-like skirt, which hangs daintily below the cap. Its close relative, Phallus indusiatus, is a tropical species with a more impressive and elaborate skirt. Phallus duplicatus is labeled "Dictyophora duplicata" in many treatments--but the current Dictionary of the Fungi has conflated "Dictyophora" with Phallus, citing Dring (1964). Description: Ecology: Saprobic; growing alone or gregariously in gardens, flowerbeds, meadows, lawns, woodchips, cultivated areas, and so on--also in hardwood forests; summer and fall; fairly common east of the Rocky Mountains, especially in the southeast, and in Texas; also found in Mexico. Immature Fruiting Body: Like a flesh-colored to whitish "egg" Mature Fruiting Body: Spike-like, 5-17 cm. high; with a "cap" area that is pitted and ridged, and covered with a slimy, malodorous, olive-brown substance that eventually wears off (or is carried away by flies), leaving a light brown coloring; with a white stem that arises from a white, sacklike volva; with a laced, white "skirt" hanging 3-6 cm from the bottom edge of the cap (sometimes collapsing against the stem). Microscopic Features: Spores 3.5-4 x 1.5-2 µ; elliptical or flattened. REFERENCES: Bosc, 1811. (Saccardo, 1888; Coker & Couch, 1928; Smith, 1949; Dring, 1964; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Arora, 1986;Guzman, Montoya & Bandala, 1990; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Metzler & Metzler, 1992; Roody, 2003; McNeil, 2006; Miller & Miller, 2006.) A Peek at the Evolution of Phallus? In 2004, contributor Deina Zartman found a Phallus duplicatus egg which she took home and successfully "hatched" in a bowl. The photos to the right illustrate the stinkhorn's development, and raise some very interesting questions. Note that the "skirt" develops slowly, and lengthens downward as the stinkhorn develops; it can barely be seen in the second photo of the series, but is fairly lengthy by the third photo. Also note that the cap is smooth in the second photo, and has not yet developed the characteristic pitted and ridged surface. In this context, the skirt almost appears to be a sterile extension of the reticulation that develops. A decade or two ago, before DNA studies began to reshape our ideas about the evolution of mushrooms, this sort of evidence might have been sufficient to theorize that Phallus duplicatus represents the pinnacle of Phallus evolution; when compared to Phallus ravenelii (which has a smooth cap) and Phallus impudicus (which has a pitted and ridged cap, but lacks the skirt), Phallus duplicatus seems to top off a logical morphological progression. But while my speculation makes good visual sense, I would not want to subscribe to the theory until genetic analysis was performed on the mushrooms. Also, it should be pointed out that the "theory" is really nothing more than what I elsewhere label simple "Pattern Recognition"; I have not advanced an argument as to what natural forces might have caused the selection for the pitted and ridged cap, or the skirt--though, as I type this, a possibility is occurring to me: perhaps the pits and ridges increase the possibility that an insect's body and wings will bump against the spore-covered surface . . . and perhaps the netted "skirt" creates an additional visual attraction or directional pointer to insects since, with flowers anyway, the arrangement of the flower makes "the total image more vivid . . . increasing the likelihood that an insect will visit" (Kricher & Morrison, Eastern Forests, 1988; p. 274). Further Online Information: Dictyophora duplicata at Tom Volk's Fungi |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2004, November). Phallus duplicatus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/phallus_duplicatus.html |