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Mutinus caninus [ Basidiomycota > Phallales > Phallaceae > Mutinus . . . ] by Michael Kuo, 26 August 2025 This distinctive stinkhorn features orange colors, and a small "head" that is not structurally distinct from the stem, although it is often separated by a constriction, as though someone tied a string to emphasize the separation. Mutinus caninus is primarily a European fungus, but it does appear in North America, at least in Ohio (see discussion below). Four other North American and European stinkhorns should be compared with Mutinus caninus if you are trying to identify it. The easiest to separate is Phallus rugulosus, which features a structurally separate head that sits atop the stem, a bit like a floppy thimble on a pencil. Mutinus elegans is also fairly easily separated; its head area is proportionally larger and less clearly defined. The more difficult look-alike is Mutinus ravenelii, which has a small head area that is sometimes separated by a constriction. However, ravenelii is pink and red when fresh, while caninus is orange. Last but not least, Mutinus caninus albus is very similar, but white. Under the microscope, the spores of Mutinus caninus are substantially longer and more cylindric than the spores of the other look-alike species. An additional feature separating Mutinus caninus from the other Mutinus species in the list can be found in the surface of the stem, which has more or less the same texture between the "head" and "stem" portions for elegans, ravenelii, and albus—but is markedly different in caninus, with a bumpy texture for the "head" area and a pocked texture for the "stem" area. Mutinus caninus is not common in North America, and it may be limited to Ohio. I have just gone through all the online "Mutinus caninus" reports from North America at iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer, and none of them actually appears to match caninus; the reports are all easily attributable to elegans or ravenelii—or, often, Phallus rugulosus. As far as North American literature is concerned, the name "caninus" has often been used to represent elegans (e.g. McIlvaine 1900, Smith 1949), or to represent ravenelii (e.g. Smith 1951). For the last 75 years or so North American authors appear to have assumed the presence of caninus on our continent based on the previous, erroneous literature, without actually documenting its presence. No photograph of any North American Mutinus in my library actually matches caninus—with one exception: In 1907 C. G. Lloyd published black and white photos of Mutinus elegans, ravenelii, and caninus in North America, along with descriptions of these stinkhorns. Lloyd's species concepts agree with those I am presenting here and, of caninus, he writes: "This is the original species of Europe and appears to be very rare in the United States. I have received it but once . . . and have seen but one photograph of an American plant that I think should be so referred. I am pleased to present this photograph (Fig. 184) recently received from Professor M. E. Hard, Chillicothe Ohio."
The collection described and illustrated below and to the right, made by Marita King, is also from Ohio, more than 100 years later. Are these the only North American reports that actually match the species? Please contact me at herbarium@mushroomexpert.com if you believe you have collected or photographed Mutinus caninus in North America! Thanks to Marita King for documenting, collecting, and preserving Mutinus caninus for study; her collection is deposited in The Herbarium of Michael Kuo Description: Ecology: Saprobic; growing alone or gregariously in gardens and cultivated areas, or in woods; summer and fall; originally described from Germany (Schaeffer 1774); widespread in Europe; reported, probably inaccurately, from South America, Africa, and Oceania; in North America documented in Ohio (here, and in Lloyd 1907). The illustrated and described collection is from Knox County, Ohio. Immature Fruiting Body: A whitish "egg" 2–4 cm high and 1.5–3 cm wide; surface smooth; when sliced revealing the pale orange stinkhorn-to-be, along with developing brownish spore slime, encased in a gelatinous substance. Mature Fruiting Body: 6–16 cm high; 1–2 cm thick at widest point; cylindric, with a conic apical "head" section that is clearly demarcated, sometimes with a belt-like constriction, at maturity accounting for well under one-fourth of the stinkhorn's total height. Head section when fresh covered with brown spore slime; surface underneath finely bumpy, bright orange. Stem section coarsely pocked and pitted; bright to pale orange, fading to nearly yellow; base encased in a white, sacklike volva up to 4.5 cm high; attached to thin white rhizomorphs. Odor: Foul while the spore slime is present. Microscopic Features: Spores 5–7 x 1–1.5 µm; cylindric; smooth; hyaline in KOH. Sphaerocysts of the pseudostipe 15–155 µm across; irregularly subglobose to ellipsoid; thin-walled; smooth or a little roughened; hyaline in KOH. Hyphae of the volva 2–8 µm wide; occasionally branching; smooth; septate; hyaline in KOH. Clamp connections not found. REFERENCES: (J. C. H. von Schaeffer, 1774) E. M. Fries, 1849. (Lloyd, 1907; Lloyd, 1909; Maas Geesteranus, 1971; Phillips, 1981; Breitenbach & Kr&aauml;nzlin, 1986; Schalkwijk-Barendsen, 1991; Tejera et al., 1998; Boccardo et al., 2008; Buczacki et al., 2012; da Silva et al., 2015; Gminder & Böhning, 2017; Kibby, 2017; Jeppson, 2018; Læssøe & Petersen, 2019; Melanda et al., 2021.) Herb. Kuo 06022501. This site contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms. |
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Cite this page as: Kuo, M. (2025, August). Mutinus caninus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: /mutinus_caninus.html © MushroomExpert.Com |