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Species Information
Summary:
Not available
Fruiting body: fruiting body beginning as "egg" up to 6cm high, becoming 6-12(16)cm high, with stem branched at top to form 4-7 (usually 5) stubby arms; arms initially curved toward each other and touching but not fused at tips, then separating and more or less erect, each 1-2.5cm long, 3-sided, hollow, outer surfaces "pallid to brownish, flesh-colored, pinkish, orange, or red, with a longitudinal groove"; inner surfaces "wrinkled and irregularly roughened or knobby, at first covered with spore slime"; peridium skin of the young "egg" membranous, white, with gelatinous inner layer, splitting to form volva that is a loose lobed white sac at base of stem; spore mass mucilaginous, olive to olive brown, becoming black as it dries, supported within the arms coating their inner surface, with unpleasant fetid odor at maturity, (Arora), unopened egg white, spherical to obovoid, up to 5cm in diameter, grooved; fruitbody consisting of stem surmounted by vertical columns; 4-7 columns, each up to 4cm long but usually less, conic with strongly marked groove down the outside surface, blunt, initially united or not at their tips but usually eventually free and then tending to curve slightly outwards, concave outer surface smooth, reddish, orange or white, convex inner surface transversely rugulose [wrinkled], covered by the slime, the columns composed of (1)3-5 regularly arranged, somewhat thick-walled tubes; spore mass brown, copious, apparently deliquescing rather slowly, (Dring)
Stem: 6-10cm x 1-2cm, usually narrowing downward, hollow, fragile, minutely chambered; white or tinged yellowish in upper part and white in lower part; faintly longitudinally striate; usually one or more mycelial cords attached to base, (Arora), stem up to 10cm x 2cm, white to pale cream in lower part, sometimes pinkish in upper part, narrowly obconic or occasionally fusiform, consisting of 2 or 3 layers of intercommunicating tubes, (Dring)
Odor: spore mass has unpleasant fetid odor
Microscopic: spores 3-4 x 1-2 microns, elliptic to oblong, smooth, (Arora), spores 4-4.5 x 1.5-2 microns; elliptic-cylindric, (Dring)
Habitat / Range
"solitary or in groups or clusters in lawns, gardens, under trees, in rich soil, on rotten wood, etc.", (Arora)
Similar Species
Lysurus gardneri has sterile bases on the arms and villose fertile parts, (Dring), but note that Lysurus gardneri as used by some authors is considered is considered a synonym of Lysurus cruciatus (Lepr. & Mont.) Henn. Lysurus mokusin has a stem usually fluted or several sided (polygonal in cross-section), and arms usually bright red and fused at their tips to form a "spire" but sometimes breaking free from each other when old, (Arora). See also SIMILAR section of Lysurus periphragmoides.
