Lantern Stinkhorn ingeniously combines a smelly odor with a fruiting body that imitates rotting flesh. How does this benefit the fungus? Blow flies arrive believing they have found fresh carrion in which to lay their eggs. As the flies investigate, they walk on sticky gleba-bearing fungal spores which they unwittingly carry away, in turn dispersing the spores without so much as a breeze.
Lantern Stinkhorn - Lysurus mokusin and multiple species of Calliphoridae.
No need to visit an arboretum to witness a rotting flesh flower bloom – these incredible acts of nature unfold in our very own backyards!