Phallic Mushroom Discovered

This stinkhorn mushroom is just two inches (5 cm) long and was discovered on an island off the west coast of Africa. Scientists noted its phallic shape. Credit: Brian Perry.

So it really does look like a phallus. A new mushroom species that's two inches (5 cm) long, grows on wood and curves downward instead of upward has been discovered on the African island of São Tomé.

The Freudian fungus, now called Phallus drewesii after herpetologist Robert Drewes from the California Academy of Sciences, belongs to a group of stinkhorn mushrooms that give off a foul, rotting meat odor. While 28 Phallus fungi have been identified, this one is notable for its small size, white net-like stem, and brown spore-covered head.

"The mushroom emerges from an egg and elongates over four hours," said Dennis Desjardin and Brian Perry of San Francisco State University. "Its odor attracts flies who consume the spores and disperse them throughout the forest." Desjardin and his colleague Brian Perry describe the fungi in July/August issue of the journal Mycologia.

Read more about Desjardin's research here