Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Phallales
Family: Phallaceae
Genus: Clathrus
Species: Clathrus ruber
Binominal name: Clathrus ruber
Common names: Red-cage fungus, Red-cage stinkhorn
Clathrus is a genus of fungi of the family Phallaceae, the stinkhorn fungi. Members of this family have fruiting bodies are latticed (clathrate), and made of hollow tubular arms that originate from the basal tissue within the volva. Mature fruit bodies are covered with fetid olive-brown spore-containing gleba that containing spores. The fetid smell attracts flies and other insects that help disseminate the spores. The spores are elliptical, smooth, hyaline, with dimensions of 4–6 ×1.5–2.5 µm. These fungi are saprobic (feeding on dead organic matter) and are common in mulch.
A Clathrus species of stinkhorn whose putrid smell has attracted 4 species of flies
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A bird's-eye view.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
