![]() The spores are 4–7 by 2–3 µm, oblong-elliptical, smooth, and embedded in the gleba. American mycologist Smith noted that the eggs are often slow to open, sometimes taking up to two weeks before the stalk expands. Fruit bodies are attached to the substrate by whitish rhizomorphs that resemble plant roots. The odor of the gleba is foul one author describes it as "sickly sweet or metallic". The remains of the "egg" forms a volva around the base of the stalk. A gelatinous greenish-brown gleba covers the upper third of the stalk in newly emerged specimens. The stalk may be straight, or slightly curved. The upper half of the stalk is bright red to reddish orange, and the color gradually loses intensity transforming into pinkish white below. The stalk is hollow and strongly wrinkled overall its shape is cylindrical below, but it gradually tapers to a narrow apex with a small opening at the tip. As the fruit body matures, the egg ruptures and the spongy spore-bearing stalk emerges fully grown, it may be from 1 to 15 cm (0.4 to 5.9 in) long and 1.5 to 2 cm (0.6 to 0.8 in) thick. The young fruiting bodies are initially white and spherical or egg-shaped, partially submerged in the ground, with dimensions of 2 to 3 cm (0.8 to 1.2 in) by 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in). The specific epithet elegans is derived from the Latin word meaning "graceful" or "elegant". The species is commonly known variously as the "elegant stinkhorn", the "headless stinkhorn", the "dog stinkhorn", or the "devil's dipstick". The genus name Mutinus refers to the Roman phallic deity Mutunus Tutunus, one of the di indigetes placated by Roman brides. It was first characterized scientifically by French scientist Jean Pierre François Camille Montagne in 1856, who called it Corynites elegans. Mutinus elegans was first described by British missionary John Banister in 1679 who chronicled the natural history of Virginia this early report is thought to be the first account of a fungus in North America. In the laboratory, Mutinus elegans has been shown to inhibit the growth of several microorganisms that can be pathogenic to humans. Due to their repellent odor, mature specimens are not generally considered edible, although there are reports of the immature "eggs" being consumed. Flies and other insects feed upon the slime which contains the spores, assisting in their dispersal. The stalk is covered with a foul-smelling slimy green spore mass on the upper third of its length. ![]() As the fungus matures, a slender orange to pink colored stalk emerges that tapers evenly to a pointed tip. The fruit body begins its development in an "egg" form, resembling somewhat a puffball partially submerged in the ground. A saprobic species, it is typically found growing on the ground singly or in small groups on woody debris or leaf litter, during summer and autumn in Japan, Europe, and eastern North America. Mutinus elegans, commonly known as the elegant stinkhorn, the dog stinkhorn, the headless stinkhorn, or the devil's dipstick, is a species of fungus in the Phallaceae (stinkhorn) family.
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