This one had me stumped for a whole
month, after I found the "eggs" growing in the springtime
alongside a public trail near my home. I had to wait well into
the dry season before the eggs started to "hatch" into
mature fruiting bodies. This amazing fungus looks like an invader
from outer space, and it smells like rotting meat. Apparently
it might indeed be an invader, but only from the tropics. It bears
a family resemblance to the genus Phallus, or common stinkhorn,
and like its cousin starts from a spherical egg with a gelatinous
interior. As the egg expands, the gelatin layer turns putrid,
the interior turns bright orange and bursts out in the form of
a complex geodesic cage which holds the spores on its mucilaginous
interior surface. The rotting smell attracts flies, which probably
help spread the spores as they investigate for food. Truly an
amzing creation! Apparently stinkhorns are edible in the egg stage,
but I can't imagine wanting to try it.