The red cage fungus, a stinkhorn whose red to orange, hollow latticed receptacle breaks out of a whitish 'egg'. An olive-brown spore slime on the inner surface smells of rotting meat and attracts flies, which disperse the spores. It is saprobic and often appears in gardens and woodchip mulch.
Not edible; treat as poisonous. Its edibility has never been formally documented and the odor deters most people. An 1854 report described stomach pain, convulsions and a stupor of about 48 hours after a young person ate part of a mature specimen, and many British guides list it as inedible or poisonous.
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Habitat
Saprobic on decaying wood and plant matter; singly or in groups in leaf litter, garden soil, grassy areas and woodchip mulch.
Distribution
Native to southern and central Europe (rare in central Europe), the Azores, Canary Islands, western Turkey, Algeria and western Iran. Introduced, probably with mulch, across much of Britain and Ireland, and recorded from urban areas in the United States (including California, Florida, Hawaii and New York), Canada, Mexico, Australasia, Argentina and China. In North America it is found from October to March.
Characteristics
Egg: Up to 6 cm across, white to greyish, with a gelatinous layer up to 3 mm thick; develops polygonal markings before opening. Receptacle: Hollow lattice about 5-20 cm tall, red to pale orange and often paler at the base, with arms up to 1.5 cm thick near the top. Gleba: Olive-green to olive-brown slime on the inner lattice surfaces, with a strong carrion odor. Key features: Bright red lattice ball with fetid slime; no stem.
