Penis Shaped Mushroom Discovered in Africa
AMOG Home / Offbeat
- Vasily Darkbloom
- Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Next time your girlfriend asks you to order extra mushrooms on that pizza, you might want to think twice.
Scientists have recently discovered several new phallic-shaped fungi in São Tomé, a small island off the western coast of Africa.
One species in particular has given the scientific community a bit of a reason to blush – the mushroom in question resembles that of a penis. While only 2 inches long (about the size of some of the Amog staffers – I’m looking at you TechMog), it clearly resembles that of a lady’s best friend. The dark, spore-covered head is a clear give-away that this fungi hasn’t been using proper protection.
“The mushroom emerges from an egg and elongates over four hours,” said Dennis Desjardin and Brian Perry of San Francisco State University.” Its odor attracts flies who consume the spores and disperse them throughout the forest.”
Kinda reminds me of waking up in the morning.
If you’re interested in plastering your room with images of the penis-shroom, be sure to check out the July issue of Mycologia, where Desjardin discusses more about it.
In case you were wondering, yes Mycologia is a journal about mushrooms. You might want to also pick up an issue of Not Getting Laid Anytime Soon weekly.
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8 Responses to “Penis Shaped Mushroom Discovered in Africa”
Posted by: raincoaster - June 17th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Dude, if yours looks like that, GET TO A DOCTOR!
Posted by: PinheadX - June 17th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
um… it's called a Stinkhorn, and they're very common everywhere. I've found them in flowerbeds and other places in the woods.
Africa doesn't have much documentation about it's mushroom species, so the discovery is significant in that respect.
and aren't almost all mushrooms somewhat penis shaped?
Posted by: An Observer - June 17th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Somebody's got a *fertile* imagination…
Posted by: Jack - June 18th, 2009 at 12:15 am
mushrooms have always looked like dicks!
Posted by: Hong Kong Dong - June 23rd, 2009 at 5:12 am
Not a problem here in Hong Kong. Plenty of pox doctors in Wanchai can fix up ones that look worse than that!
Old Joke:
Patient:: Can you help Doctor? All the experts say it'll have to come off.
Doctor: Foreign doctors crazy. Waste of money to amputate – in two weeks will drop off!
Posted by: DAVE - September 14th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I have abot 10-12 of these stinkhorns growing here in my yard in Tulsa Ok
Posted by: Terry Levere - October 8th, 2009 at 1:27 am
We just found about 5 of these stinkhorns growing near the base of our pine trees(Oct 2010) . Quite a novelty find in a country setting about 5 miles North of Cardinal, Ontario, Canada…..
Posted by: Rose - October 9th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
I had not heard of these 'penis-shaped' mushrooms until they began popping up in the flower bed near my front door. They are 6-8 inches long, which is much longer than other articles indicate. They have a nasty smell and attract flies. [Of course, we had a good time laughing hysterically when they first appeared!]
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