Prick mushroom

This was the highlight of a short walk around the nature reserve today. I wish my camera could record smells, because it is often the intense sweet-but-yukky smell that first reveals the presence of this interesting fungus. On following the smell and parting vegetation at the side of a woodland clearing or ride, you will uncover this striking fungal structure: an erect white stem with a pitted head that will soon turn darker and ooze a smelly, sticky gunk which attracts flies from some distance. This is the Stinkhorn or Phallus impudicus, a fungus to delight bawdy countryfolk and strike fear into Victorian ladies with its obvious associations. Prick mushroom was an old common name for it.