Last year in
spring I found something reddish on the ground in the forest. I wondered what
remains this could have been, either some rest of an animal or a part of a
plant. This year I
found the solution. Finding the complete body, it appears to be a mushroom with
an amazing form.
Clathrus
ruber is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn
family. It is commonly known as the latticed stinkhorn, the basket
stinkhorn, or the red cage, alluding to the striking fruit bodies
that are shaped somewhat like a round or oval hollow sphere with interlaced or
latticed branches. The fungus is saprobic, feeding off decaying woody plant
material.
The fruit body
initially appears like a whitish "egg" attached to the ground at the
base by cords called rhizomorphs.
Then the fruit body
bursts the egg open as it expands into a spongy latticed "arms",
showing the ribbed and wrinkled outer surface, and gleba on the inner surface. Within a few
days the gleba has a fetid odor, somewhat like rotting meat, which attracts
flies and other insects to help disperse its spores.
It is considered
native to southern and central continental Europe and is common in South of France
and Corsica. It appears from spring to autumn mainly on acid soils.
Although the
edibility of the fungus is not known with certainty, its odor would deter most
from consuming it.
C. ruber was not regarded highly in tales in southern European
folklore and was said to be used by witches, which suggested that those who handled
the mushroom risked contracting various ailments.
More mushrooms
of the Sant valley
