Is this a plant or what?

Last week these popped up in one area. I picked one and the stem is hollow and a spongy pink. As you can see there is a black tip on the end and it smells like (for lack of a better word) dog poop. And the flies are all over it. It came out of cypress mulch I put down last year. I thought it may be a fungus of some type and decided when more popped up to leave it alone. The next day it starts to disintegrate and within two days it is mostly gone. Today, after an overnight rain two more came up and the flies on it were unbelievable. It is creepy and I have never seen anything like it.

This kind of resembles a type of mushroom like fungus that I have seen in the woods near my home. When the sun hits them they usually dry up. The flies, I think, are the way this thing spreads its spores. The flys are drawn to the smell just as they are to doggy droppings. If this is incorrect I am sure it will be corrected shortly.

Thank you and I thought it may be a type of fungus. Makes sense that the bad smell would attract flies. It was funny when I found it, my husband who sometimes has a habit of smelling things, took a good whiff of it which is how I know what it smells like. I loved the look on his face! : )

stinkhorn. A coworker was just telling us that she has some sprouting from her yard. She's especially glad that she hadn't invited the mother in law over for tea at the same time that this lewd demonstration was taking place in her yard.

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/phallaceae.html

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/stinkhorn_fame.html

I've heard them called Devil fingers or dead man's fingers. Some claim it a fungas, some say mushroom. I say Spooky and Smelly. Cool picture, I have not seen one of those since i was a kid in Tenn. All the spooky stories of there is a dead man buried trying to dig out, or this is where the devil hides. Thanks for the old memories and tomrrow my theropas will thank you too :)

Jimmidy cricket Indy I thought this was a family post. More theropy.

Thanks everyone now I had a good laugh. It is disgusting and a little too x-rated to be in my garden! In fact I took a risk posting the picture. ; ) I read up on these "things" and I can expect more of them. I was digging in the area the other day to plant an annual and unearthed some white things that looked like small white mushrooms. I have since found out that is the way they look before them come out of the ground. And I have eight more bags of that mulch! And here is the new "brother" nested in his new spot. And we're having rain which probably means more. : (

Hilarious and disgusting at the same time. Mother Nature has an odd sense of humor!

I hate to be the one to say it but even in the most beautiful garden a weed or two (smelly little fungi also) must grow! You might check around at the nurseries in your area you may be able to treat for ol' stincky fingers. :-)

a little baking soda and water will normally quell the odd fungus or two in the garden.

This is not an attractive addition to my garden. I just put on latex gloves, pull them out and plastic bag them. At least for now they seem to have slowed down but now with more rain who knows? I think I'll give the baking soda and water a try, thanks. They wouldn't even be a problem if they didn't draw so many flies.

oh I had those years ago, they were disgusting! they looked pornographic and smelled nasty and were covered with flies! They were right under my front windows. I would toss them out with a garden spade and rake the mulch to let it dry & air out....I never got any more of them.

I have a couple more this morning but I think they don't appreciate me yanking them out(with latex gloves on) and they seem to be dying out. Nastiest thing I have ever had in my garden!

I was about to go take a pic of mine and ask what they were lol. You are right about them looking questionable. Thanks for the info, the first time I've ever noticed them in my flower bed.

this thread was the funniest!!!! Thanks yall, you made me laugh. Crazyfish3 hope this doesn't set you back too far in your therapy lol

okay ... i have the solution for you. Fail safe. Get some road kill. Squirrel, rabbit, etc. Put it in a wire basket (like what you have for veggies in the kitchen), and hang it out over your fish pond. You can set up one of those push -me -pull-you clothes lines to hold it. In hours you will have every fly within a hundred yard radius trying to lay eggs on the carcass. flys have a short life so the adults die soon. the eggs hatch. The larvae will feed on the meat as it starts to rot, therefore, no smell. As they grow(rapidly), the larvae will fall off into the water and become a wildly nutritious source of food for your fish. In one week, NO FLIES at all. NONE. :)