(FOX 2) - It smells like dead flesh, attracts flies, and looks like it belongs in the underworld.
But the stinkhorn mushroom is a much more common sight in Michigan than its strange appearance may indicate. And anyone wandering through their yard may reveal the curious fungi are also growing on their property as well.
Stinkhorn is identifiable by its red-orange coloring, the cap located at the end of the mushroom, and the putrid stench it gives off.
Why is Stinkhorn growing in my garden?
Heather Johnson of the Midwest American Mycological Information nonprofit said stinkhorns are saprobes, which covers any organism that grows by breaking down decaying matter.
Mulch and wood chips laid in one's yard often have detritus just under the surface, which is why stinkhorns often have an easy time growing in those environments.
How does Stinkhorn spread?
Stinkhorn makes use of the cap that grows out of the end of the body to reproduce.
That's where its spores can be found, according to Johnson. However, those spores are only released after the mushroom secretes a slimy goo that attracts flies.
"It gets very putrid-smelling, almost like rotting flesh, literally," she said, "and then that goo is where the spores are released. Flies are attracted to that rotting smell. They come and land on it, they eat that, and then they go off into the world."
How long does stinkhorn stick around for?
Stinkhorn comes and goes within 48 hours.
Like other kinds of fungi, stinkhorn's growth is the result of a lot of activity below ground. It spawns thanks to mycelium interacting with the spores carried around by flies that had recently visited another stinkhorn mushroom.
Mycelium is what does the breaking down of decaying material in the environment.
"When all of the conditions are met for that stinkhorn to come up, it produces an egg," Johnson said. "Within that egg, that's where that mushroom is bound up."
She said the water from the mycelium interacts with the egg, causing it to open and allow the stinkhorn to grow.
Are they common?
Stinkhorns are among the more familiar sightings in Michigan when it comes to fungi.
Can I eat it?
Stinkhorn is not one of the poisonous mushrooms that grows in Michigan, but its smell alone is often enough of a deterrent that no one would try to eat it.
The Source: An interview with the Midwest American Mycological Information was cited for this story.