What is this mysterious spongy thing in my garden?

June 11, 2007 3:29 PM

What is this strange thing growing in my garden?

I had lovely tulips in my garden earlier this spring and they've finished now, but when the weather is warm and humid (as it has been lately), these strange, spongy, slightly rude-looking growths emerge where once there were tulips. I've Googled all manner of keyword combinations, can anyone tell me what these things are? Pictures here.

posted by chihiro to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

Best answer: It looks like Dog Stinkhorn. Do you have bark mulch? We used to get these mushrooms during particularly humid weather, and then we replaced the bark mulch with other things, and they never came back.
posted by librarianamy at 3:35 PM on June 11, 2007

Best answer: Does it smell? Looks like a stinkhorn fungus. They spread their spores by attracting flies and smelling awful. Here's somebody's picture.
posted by emyd at 3:38 PM on June 11, 2007

Response by poster: I do have bark mulch, in fact. That must be it -- I kept searching for something related to tulips since the naughty looking things didn't come up until the tulips had gone. Also glad to know my impressions were not just the product of a dirty mind ;) Thank you so much!
posted by chihiro at 3:42 PM on June 11, 2007

They (or parts of them) seem to be edible and may be even a delicacy.

Were I you, if further research pans out, I would sit down to enjoy a plate of dog penises.

but then again sometimes the word delicacy really means that nobody sane would eat it.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 5:20 PM on June 11, 2007