# Phallus impudicus
**Phallus impudicus** L., the common stinkhorn, is a basidiomycete fungus in the order [Phallales](https://www.edgepedia.org/phallales) and family [Phallaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/phallaceae), known for a phallic fruiting body that emerges from an underground egg and carries a dark olive-green, foul-smelling spore slime (gleba) that attracts flies, which disperse its spores.[1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=146781&mode=Info) • [2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php) It was described in 1753 by [Carl Linnaeus](https://www.edgepedia.org/carl-linnaeus) and retains the name he gave it; the specific epithet is Latin for 'shameless', so the binomial translates roughly as 'shamelessly phallic'.[2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php) It is the type species of the genus *Phallus*.[3](https://www.czechmycology.org/_cm/CM484.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | *Phallus impudicus* L., 1753; NCBI Taxonomy ID 146781[1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=146781&mode=Info) |
| Classification | Fungi, Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, Phallomycetidae, Phallales, Phallaceae[4](https://species.data.kew.org/species/245934) |
| Fruit body | 10–25 × 2–4 cm; conical-campanulate head with dark olive-green slime over a white honeycomb surface; stem 8–20 × 2–4 cm, spongy and hollow[5](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046) |
| Egg stage | Grey-whitish, leathery 'devil's egg', mostly below the surface, 3–6 cm across, rupturing with a disc or egg tooth[5](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046) |
| Spores | Ellipsoidal to oblong, smooth, 3.5 × 1.5–2.5 µm, suspended in the slimy gleba[2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php) |
| Lifestyle | Saprophyte on humus-rich soil or strongly decayed wood, possibly also forming ectomycorrhiza[5](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046) |
| Distribution | Most temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, particularly abundant in North America and Western Europe[6](https://redlist.info/iucn/species_view/245934/) |
| Edibility | Edible at the egg stage according to European field guides; a Phallales review lists it as confirmed edible with conditions, while a Spanish guide labels the species inedible[5](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046) • [7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299787/) • [8](https://www.fungipedia.org/en/hongos/phallus-impudicus.html) |
## Description and development
The fungus spends most of its visible life as an egg. The gray-whitish, leathery egg develops mostly below the surface, measures 3–6 cm across, and carries long white mycelial strands; a transverse section shows an outer translucent brownish gelatinous layer, an inner green layer that becomes the gleba, and a central white column that becomes the stipe.[5](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046) • [8](https://www.fungipedia.org/en/hongos/phallus-impudicus.html) When the egg ruptures, the stipe elongates rapidly and lifts the gleba-coated cap aloft; the mature fruit body stands 10–25 cm tall with a stem 2–4 cm thick.[5](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046) • [2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php)
**The gleba and its dispersers.** The dark olive-green slime on the conical-campanulate head has a sweetish stench that is detectable from several meters away.[5](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046) • [8](https://www.fungipedia.org/en/hongos/phallus-impudicus.html) Flies land on the gleba and gradually consume it, and some of the sticky material adheres to their legs, carrying spores to new locations as the insects fly off.[8](https://www.fungipedia.org/en/hongos/phallus-impudicus.html) • [2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php) Once the gleba is gone, only a whitish, honeycomb-like sterile framework remains, and the spongy white stipe, with the texture of expanded polystyrene, persists for several days.[8](https://www.fungipedia.org/en/hongos/phallus-impudicus.html) • [2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php) Because the spores are suspended in slime, a conventional spore print cannot be produced.[2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php)
## Habitat and distribution
*Phallus impudicus* occurs on humus-rich sandy or loamy soil, or on and near strongly decayed wood, in woods, shrubberies, parks, and gardens, fruiting in summer and autumn.[5](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046) It appears in both coniferous and broadleaf forests and, except in winter, can be found at any time of year; it is common and very frequent.[8](https://www.fungipedia.org/en/hongos/phallus-impudicus.html) A Global Fungal Red List assessment proposal describes a wide distribution covering most temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, particularly abundant in North America and [Western Europe](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-europe), with reports from several provinces of China, and notes it does not reach boreal-subalpine or arctic vegetation zones.[6](https://redlist.info/iucn/species_view/245934/)
**Nordic ecology.** A 1989 study by the Swedish botanist O. Andersson mapped the species in the [Nordic countries](https://www.edgepedia.org/nordic-countries) and found it to be a southern species there, with its northern limit adjacent to the large lakes of Central Sweden; in Norway and Finland it is restricted to coasts with a favorable climate.[9](https://eurekamag.com/research/007/883/007883433.php) It grows in deciduous woods, especially beech woods, but also in spontaneous and planted coniferous woods, parks, and gardens, and fruit-body production is optimal on well-aerated soils with fine or middle mull.[9](https://eurekamag.com/research/007/883/007883433.php) The species is xylophilous (wood-loving) and can probably also form mycorrhiza.[9](https://eurekamag.com/research/007/883/007883433.php) In Ireland, a survey recorded fruit bodies mainly at badger (*Meles meles*) setts.[10](https://www.irishbiogeographicalsociety.com/pdf/19-1996-BulletinIrishBiogeographicalSociety.pdf)
## Taxonomy and species boundaries
Linnaeus described the nominate form *Phallus impudicus* var. *impudicus* in 1753; synonyms include *Phallus foetidus* Sowerby and *Ithyphallus impudicus* (L.) Fr.[2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php) The variety *Phallus impudicus* var. *togatus* (Kalchbr.) Costantin & L.M. Dufour differs in having a veil that forms a lace-like skirt beneath the head and is a rare find in Britain.[2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php) A rarer variant with a net-like indusium but otherwise not different was described as *P. impudicus* var. *pseudoduplicatus* O. Andersson; it has been reported from scattered localities across Europe and had usually been identified with the North American *Phallus duplicatus* Bosc, which Andersson showed differs in several characters and should be regarded as a separate species.[9](https://eurekamag.com/research/007/883/007883433.php)
Molecular work has unsettled the species limits. A review of molecular phylogenetic studies in Phallales noted that the type species is represented by sequences in two different clades, one of which most likely represents a misidentified specimen closer to *Phallus hadriani*, and that the identity and positioning of *P. impudicus* deserve further investigation.[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299787/) A 2026 soil-microbiology study of the cultivated relative *Phallus dongsun* states that *P. impudicus* is a species complex well known for the presence of an indusium and actually represents at least four phylogenetic species; before 2020, Chinese material was often misidentified as *P. impudicus*, and samples previously named *P. impudicus* were reidentified as the new species *P. dongsun*, while *P. impudicus* itself is native to Europe.[11](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-45668-x) A genome sequencing and assembly project for the isolate HDH2019 was registered in January 2024.[12](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/771878)
## Odor chemistry
The smell that gives the species its common name has a measurable chemical basis. Headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of fruit bodies at four developmental stages showed that the types and concentrations of volatile compounds depend mainly on the growth stage.[13](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10957454/) 2-Cyano-2-ethyl-butyramide and 6-undecanol were the most abundant compounds in relative terms, with α-terpinen-7-al, 2,4-decadienol, and methyl geranate next; since 2-cyano-2-ethyl-butyramide had not been found in other edible fungi, it may serve as a characteristic volatile marker for this species.[13](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10957454/) Of the metabolites detected, 88 were absent at the budding stage, indicating that production, accumulation, and release of volatile compounds occur mainly after the shell is broken by the expanding thallus.[13](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10957454/)
## Edibility and similar species
The vile smell of a mature stinkhorn suggests toxicity, but some people eat the fungus, only at the egg stage when the odor is not yet evident; it is not greatly valued as food.[2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php) The Naturalis interactive guide likewise marks it edible, and a review of Phallales lists *P. impudicus* among three confirmed edible species of the order, with conditions.[5](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046) • [7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299787/) The Fungipedia guide, by contrast, labels the species inedible.[8](https://www.fungipedia.org/en/hongos/phallus-impudicus.html)
In its egg stage it can resemble other stinkhorns such as *Clathrus archeri*, but a transverse section resolves the difference; it also resembles *Phallus hadriani*, which emerges from a pinkish egg and, in Britain, is essentially confined to sand dunes.[8](https://www.fungipedia.org/en/hongos/phallus-impudicus.html) • [2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php) *Mutinus caninus*, the dog stinkhorn, is much smaller, has a weaker odor, and shows an orange rather than white honeycombed cap surface beneath the gleba.[2](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php)
## Conservation status
NatureServe assigns a global status of GNR (globally not ranked, meaning it has not yet been assessed) and records the species from the Canadian provinces of [British Columbia](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-columbia), Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and [Saskatchewan](https://www.edgepedia.org/saskatchewan) and from [Indiana](https://www.edgepedia.org/indiana) in the United States.[14](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.943022/Phallus_impudicus) The Global Fungal Red List Initiative assessment proposed by Mikael Jeppson describes a frequent species with a large and stable population and suggests a designation of Least Concern (LC).[6](https://redlist.info/iucn/species_view/245934/)
## References
1. [NCBI Taxonomy Browser: Phallus impudicus L., 1753 (Taxonomy ID 146781)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=146781&mode=Info)
2. [Phallus impudicus, Stinkhorn fungus, First Nature](https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phallus-impudicus.php)
3. [Czech Mycology 48(4): notes on Phallus, typus generis Phallus impudicus L.](https://www.czechmycology.org/_cm/CM484.pdf)
4. [Phallus impudicus L., Royal Botanic Gardens Kew species profile](https://species.data.kew.org/species/245934)
5. [Phallus impudicus, Interactive Guide to Mushrooms and other fungi, Naturalis](https://mushrooms.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=100046)
6. [Phallus impudicus L., Global Fungal Red List Initiative assessment](https://redlist.info/iucn/species_view/245934/)
7. [An Overview of 24 Years of Molecular Phylogenetic Studies in Phallales (Basidiomycota), Frontiers in Microbiology 2021](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299787/)
8. [Phallus impudicus, Fungipedia Mushroom Guide](https://www.fungipedia.org/en/hongos/phallus-impudicus.html)
9. [Andersson, O. (1989). The distribution and ecology of Phallus impudicus in the Nordic countries. Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 83(4): 219–241](https://eurekamag.com/research/007/883/007883433.php)
10. [Bulletin No. 19, Irish Biogeographical Society (1996)](https://www.irishbiogeographicalsociety.com/pdf/19-1996-BulletinIrishBiogeographicalSociety.pdf)
11. [Comparative analysis of soil microbial diversity and chemical properties in different Phallus dongsun habitats, Scientific Reports (2026)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-45668-x)
12. [Phallus impudicus isolate HDH2019, Genome sequencing and assembly, NCBI BioProject PRJNA771878](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/771878)
13. [Formation of special odors driven by volatile compounds during the growth and maturation in edible fungi (Phallus impudicus), 2024](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10957454/)
14. [Phallus impudicus, NatureServe Explorer](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.943022/Phallus_impudicus)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Microorganisms and fungi › Fungi and mycology › Basidiomycete taxa › Agaricomycetes › Gasteroid fungi › Stinkhorns and bird's-nest fungi › Phallaceae (stinkhorn family)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license