Identify this?

[Dark1704]

Hello everyone!

I found this while out walking yesterday. It felt spongy, fleshy and soft, and I decided to cut it open and it was almost like an orange inside with visible segments.

Not certain you'll be able to see the photos, they're linked to Facebook. I'll upload them somewhere else if you can't!

Thanks, Jake

 

[copper_head]

Looks like an egg stage Phallus Impudicus (Stink horn) to me...

 

[Shewie]

It looks like Earthballs to me, not sure which one though

 

[Emdiesse]

When I first saw the picture I thought an old puffball, but then you see the centre stem part.

The earthballs I have found are purple inside, is this always the case?

That egg stage stink horn looks pretty close!

 

[Mesquite]

Yup... that's a young stinkhorn

 

[Clouston98]

I found a stink horn In full growth. I picked it up examined it and then went to smell it......

I now know where it gets its common name from.

 

[Emdiesse]

I remember reading in a book that apparently victorian ladies would stamp on and destroy mature stinkhorn 'members' they found so their young lady maidservants wouldn't be corrupted by the sight of it...

 

[Shewie]

Another good example of why I don't forage for fungi

 

[woodstock]

Witchs egg and delicious when young Fi and I ate one about a week ago lovely

 

[Chiseller]

I thought the egg , grew mostly below ground ?

If Woden Wills It , then it will be so

 

[Dark1704]

I have never heard of a Stinkhorn in my life! Thanks all! I'll steer clear in future :')

Jake

 

[xylaria]

I have never heard of a Stinkhorn in my life! Thanks all! I'll steer clear in future :')

Jake

It tastes lovely in the egg stage. Dont eat the eyebally slime on the outside, the rest tastes as good as morels.

 

[demographic]

Yeah, that sure looks like a stinkhorn witch's egg to me. Be sure that you dont mistake it for other members of the familly as it contains some of them are lethal.

I have however eaten the inner part of the stinkhorn egg and for a start they don't smell like they do when they have fully formed.
To me they taste and smell like a fairly crap radish, by fairly crap I mean the ones that aren't really that hot.

I'll hunt them out when I think they are on offer though and out of the fungi I'd have to say they have a fairly Ok flavour.

When they emerge from the egg and grow to look like a knob they also start to stink like something has died, can't see anyone wanting to eat one then.
Also, that gelatinous covering is as far as I've been told the w way you can tell its one of the edible ones, without it and that egg contains something that could well kill you.

 

[xylaria]

Yeah, that sure looks like a stinkhorn witch's egg to me. Be sure that you dont mistake it for other members of the familly as it contains some of them are lethal.

I have however eaten the inner part of the stinkhorn egg and for a start they don't smell like they do when they have fully formed.
To me they taste and smell like a fairly crap radish, by fairly crap I mean the ones that aren't really that hot.

I'll hunt them out when I think they are on offer though and out of the fungi I'd have to say they have a fairly Ok flavour.

When they emerge from the egg and grow to look like a knob they also start to stink like something has died, can't see anyone wanting to eat one then.
Also, that gelatinous covering is as far as I've been told the w way you can tell its one of the edible ones, without it and that egg contains something that could well kill you.

That is rubbish. Sorry. They arent related to anything poisonous. The jelly certainly isnt a feature of it not been poisonius, very young ones have little in way of a jelly layer.

In theory randomly eating fungi in its very immature egg stage could mean a couple of death caps in the pot, but the inside of witches eggs are very very distinctive and always have the dark areas from where the gleba forms. Other "egg"fungi dont.

 

[Emdiesse]

That is rubbish. Sorry. They arent related to anything poisonous. The jelly certainly isnt a feature of it not been poisonius, very young ones have little in way of a jelly layer.

In theory randomly eating fungi in its very immature egg stage could mean a couple of death caps in the pot, but the inside of witches eggs are very very distinctive and always have the dark areas from where the gleba forms. Other "egg"fungi dont.

Hi Xylaria,

I have seen your thread of poisonous fungi (unfortunately the images are all blurred out for me when I follow your links, but nothing a little google doesn't sort )

In terms of egg stage fungi I have most certainly heard of deathcaps, destroying angels and so on being one of the main reasons why you should always cut a puff ball in half and equally I guess why you should cut any puff ball or egg stage fungi in half including the 'Witches Egg' before you even dream of eating one.

From my understanding, cutting a puff ball in half it should be white, consistent throughout with no embryo-like outline.
My newly acquired understanding, also cutting an immature stinkhorn in half you should expect to see those dark patches (the gleba [fleshy mass of spores forming] forming... you'd also see gleba in mature puff balls but not the centre white stipe that the stinkhorn would have?)

Is there anything else to add and are there any other egg stage fungi that are worth looking out for, for any reason (edible, poisonous or just darned interesting!)

Many Thanks,
Matt

 

[demographic]

That is rubbish. Sorry. They arent related to anything poisonous. The jelly certainly isnt a feature of it not been poisonius, very young ones have little in way of a jelly layer.

In theory randomly eating fungi in its very immature egg stage could mean a couple of death caps in the pot, but the inside of witches eggs are very very distinctive and always have the dark areas from where the gleba forms. Other "egg"fungi dont.

The way I was told to identify them from things like Amanita Virosa (which I don't much fancy eating) was that they have the darker areas inside but more importantly they have the gelatinous part. Shrugs.