Clathrus columnatus
Clathrus columnatus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Agaricomycetes |
Order: | Phallales |
Family: | Phallaceae |
Genus: | Clathrus |
Species: | C. columnatus
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Binomial name | |
Clathrus columnatus Bosc (1811)
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Synonyms[1] | |
Clathrus columnatus saprotrophic | |
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Edibility is not recommended or unknown |
Clathrus columnatus, commonly known as the column stinkhorn, is a
The species has a widespread distribution, and has been found in Africa, Australasia, and the Americas. It may have been introduced to North America with exotic plants. Although once considered undesirable, the fungus is listed as edible. It is found commonly in mulch.
Taxonomy
The species was first named by the French botanist
The
Description
The fruit body, or receptaculum, of Clathrus columnatus consists of two to five (usually four) spongy vertical columns, which are separate where they arise from the volva, but joined at the top in an arch. The columns are joined in pairs; the opposite pairs are joined by a short and broad arch similar in structure to the columns. The columns, which are narrower at the base than above, are reddish-orange above and yellowish-pink below. Young specimens have the fruit body compressed into the small interior space of an "egg",[11] which consists of a peridium that is surrounded by a gelatinous layer that encloses the compressed fruiting body. The egg, usually gray or grayish-brown,[11] typically reaches diameters of 3 to 5 cm (1+1⁄4 to 2 in) before the columns grow. The volva remains at the base of the fruit body as a thick, loose, whitish sack. The mycelial cords found at the base of the volva are made of two types of tissues: a central bundle of fine hyphae that extend in a longitudinal direction, and an outer cortical layer of coarser hyphae that form a loose but highly interwoven structure. Full-grown columns can extend to 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3+1⁄4 in) above the ground, a location that optimizes spore dispersal. The fetid-smelling gleba, the spore-bearing mass, is smeared on the upper inner surface of the columns.[12]
The
Development
The American botanist
Similar species
Pseudocolus fusiformis, Clathrus bicolumnatus, and Clathrus ruber have similarities to Clathrus columnatus. The lattice stinkhorn, C. ruber, has a larger, more globular, lattice-like receptacle. The "stinky squid", P. fusiformis, has arms that are attached at the bases, and free at the top. It grows on rotting logs and chip-mulched soil, in contrast to C. columnatus, which grows on sandy soil.[9] C. bicolumnatus has a smaller stature (up to 9 cm tall), and only has two columns.[11] Laternea dringii is also much smaller.[14]
Habitat and distribution
Like all Phallaceae species, C. columnatus is
The fungus has been collected in Oceania (including New Zealand and New Guinea), Africa, China, and North and South America.[15] In China, it is found in Jiangsu, Fujian, and Guangdong.[16] The North American distribution extends north to New York and south to Mexico as well as Costa Rica;[11][17] it is also in Hawaii.[9] The fungus is less common in the southeastern and southern United States.[13] It is thought to have been introduced to North America, as it typically appear in landscaped areas or other locations where exotic plants have been established.[18]
Australian mycologist Tom May points out that a reported distribution in Australia is "presumably erroneous", being based on only a single collection in 1948.[19]
Ecology
Like other member of the family Phallaceae, the mature fungus attracts insects with its smell to help disperse its spores. Psilopyga fasciata, a stinkhorn beetle of the sap beetle family, has been recorded feeding on the gleba of Mexican specimens.[20]
Toxicity
The words of
Uses
Despite the early report of poisoning,
References
- ^ a b "Clathrus columnatus Bosc 1811". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ^ Nees CGD, Henry ACF (1858). Das System der Pilze. Durch Beschreibungen und Abbildungen erläutert von Th. Friedr. Ludw. Nees von Esenbeck und A. Henry (in German). Vol. 2. Bonn: Verlag des Lithographischen Instituts der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität und der Leopoldinisch-Carolinischen Academie der Naturforscher von Henry und Cohen. p. 96. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ^ ISBN 0-916422-74-7.
- ^ "The Gasteromycetes of Australasia. XI. The Phallales, part II". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 56: 182–200. 1931.
- ^ "Colonnaria Raf. 1808". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ "Linderia G. Cunn. 1931". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ "Linderiella G. Cunn. 1942". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ Langenscheidt KG (1955). Langenscheidt's Latin-English Dictionary (1st ed.). Berlin-Schöneberg, Germany: Druckhaus Langenscheidt. p. 73. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ ISBN 0-395-91090-0.
- ^ Lloyd CG (1906). "Concerning the Phalloids". Mycological Notes. 24: 293–. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Kuo M. "Clathrus columnatus". MushroomExpert.com. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
- ^ S2CID 83928615.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7627-3109-1.
- ISBN 978-0-593-31998-7.
- JSTOR 4117008.
- ISBN 962-201-556-5. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ISSN 0034-7744.
- ISBN 0-89815-169-4. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-643-06907-7.
- S2CID 84919621.