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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe odor seemed to be coming from the garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was difficult to describe. It reminded me of spoiled meat mixed with damp earth, and it became stronger as I approached one particular flower bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I saw something I was certain had not been there the previous evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A reddish, fleshy-looking object was lying among the mulch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a few seconds, I simply stared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It didn’t resemble any plant I recognized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its surface looked moist and irregular, almost as though several thick red fingers or tentacles had emerged from the soil. Dark material covered parts of it, and several flies were already crawling over the strange structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From a distance, it looked disturbingly like a small piece of animal tissue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My first instinct was not to touch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That turned out to be a sensible decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Creature\u2014or Something Else?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Standing several feet away, I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Could it be a large insect larva?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Had an animal left something behind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Could it be some kind of fungus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last possibility seemed unlikely at first. When most people imagine mushrooms, they picture the familiar combination of a stem and a rounded cap. Whatever had appeared in the garden looked nothing like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took a photograph instead of examining it with my hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Searching descriptions such as «red smelly thing growing in mulch» quickly produced images that looked remarkably similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mysterious object appeared to belong to a group of fungi commonly known as stinkhorns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suddenly, the awful smell made sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stinkhorn fungi are famous for producing odors that humans often compare to rotting flesh, sewage or decaying organic material. Their appearance can be equally surprising. Depending on the species, stinkhorns may resemble columns, lattices, fingers or elaborate red structures that seem more appropriate to a coral reef than a suburban garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One especially dramatic group includes fungi commonly called octopus stinkhorns because their mature fruiting bodies spread into several reddish arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What had looked like an unknown creature could therefore have a much simpler explanation: it was probably a fungal fruiting body emerging from material already present beneath the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Would a Fungus Smell Like Dead Meat?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The smell is not an unfortunate accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is part of the fungus’s reproductive strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many familiar flowering plants use pleasant scents and colorful petals to attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Certain fungi have evolved a very different method of attracting help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stinkhorns produce a sticky spore-containing substance that can smell like decomposing organic matter. Flies and other insects that normally investigate carrion or waste are attracted to the odor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When those insects land on the fungus, spores can stick to their bodies. The insects may later carry those spores elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, the disgusting smell that makes a homeowner want to walk away may be exactly what makes the fungus successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The flies covering the strange red object in the garden were not necessarily evidence that something had died there. They could actually have been responding to a chemical signal produced by the fungus itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a surprisingly effective illusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To a fly searching for decomposing material, the fungus was advertising precisely the right message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Could It Appear So Suddenly?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Another mystery was the speed with which the object seemed to have appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was fairly certain that I had walked through the same part of the yard the previous day without noticing anything unusual. Yet now there was a large and unmistakable structure sitting above the mulch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fungi, however, do not begin their lives when we first notice them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of the organism can remain hidden in soil, wood chips or decomposing plant material as a network of microscopic filaments known collectively as mycelium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The visible structure is only the reproductive part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A useful comparison is an apple tree. Seeing an apple appear does not mean the tree suddenly came into existence. The tree was already there; the fruit is simply one temporary structure produced by a much larger organism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Something similar happens with mushrooms and other fungal fruiting bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moisture, temperature and the availability of organic matter can create favorable conditions for fruiting. After rain or heavy watering, certain fungi may develop visible structures remarkably quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That can create the impression that something mysterious has materialized overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In reality, the biological process may have been developing unnoticed for much longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Mulch Can Become the Perfect Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The location also provided another clue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strange growth had appeared beside a flower bed containing wood-based mulch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mulch is useful in gardens because it helps retain moisture, moderates soil temperature and gradually contributes organic material as it breaks down. But decomposing wood also provides food for many fungi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This does not mean that mulch is unhealthy or that a garden has been neglected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quite the opposite: fungal activity is a normal part of decomposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fungi help break down dead plant material and return nutrients to the surrounding ecosystem. Without fungi and other decomposers, forests and gardens would accumulate enormous amounts of dead organic matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unpleasant-looking stinkhorn therefore wasn’t necessarily attacking the flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It may simply have been feeding on decomposing material in the garden bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That distinction is important because homeowners sometimes assume that every mushroom appearing near a plant is a disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many fungi found in soil and mulch are decomposers rather than parasites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should You Remove It?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For many people, the biggest problem with stinkhorns is not danger but smell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fruiting body located far from a house may disappear without anyone needing to do anything. But one growing beside a patio, doorway or frequently used part of the garden can be difficult to tolerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If removal is necessary, basic precautions make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Avoid eating unidentified fungi, and keep curious children and pets from handling unknown mushrooms or fungal growths. Anyone removing one can use gloves and place the material in a sealed bag, particularly because the spore-bearing slime may have an extremely unpleasant odor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Removing the visible structure does not necessarily eliminate the fungus itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The underlying fungal network may remain inside the mulch or soil, and new fruiting bodies can appear when conditions become favorable again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reducing excessive moisture and removing heavily decomposed organic debris may sometimes make an area less favorable for repeated growth. But completely eliminating fungi from a garden is neither realistic nor generally desirable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are part of the ecosystem beneath our feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nature Often Looks Stranger Than Fiction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
By the time I understood what I was probably looking at, my reaction had changed completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The object hadn’t become prettier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It still looked bizarre, and the smell remained awful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But fear had been replaced by curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What initially appeared to be a mysterious animal or some disturbing piece of flesh was likely an example of a sophisticated biological strategy developed over millions of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fungus did not need bright flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It did not need nectar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It needed flies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So instead of producing something attractive to humans, it produced something irresistible to insects that search for decay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The red coloration, fleshy structure and powerful odor worked together to create one of nature’s stranger reproductive displays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was also something humbling about discovering how much activity could be taking place in a tiny backyard without anyone noticing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beneath the mulch were bacteria, insects, worms, roots and fungal networks continuously breaking down material and recycling nutrients. Most of that world remained invisible until one particularly dramatic organism pushed a reproductive structure above the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a short time, it became impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The experience also offered a useful reminder about unfamiliar things found outdoors: appearance alone can be misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A frightening-looking organism is not automatically dangerous. Something that seems to be moving may simply be attracting insects. A smell associated with death does not necessarily mean that an animal has died nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And a strange object that seems to have appeared overnight may actually be the visible result of a biological process that has been developing quietly beneath the ground for weeks or months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had gone outside expecting nothing more interesting than watering a few flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, the garden offered a small lesson in fungal ecology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strange red growth was still unpleasant enough that I had no desire to get closer than necessary. But once I understood what it was probably doing there, it stopped looking like a monster from the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It became something far more interesting: evidence of an entire hidden ecosystem carrying on its work just a few steps from my back door.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The morning had begun with one of those ordinary household routines that rarely deserve a second thought. I carried a watering can into \n [...]<\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5856,"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5854\/revisions\/5856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harcum.am\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}