Library / English Dictionary

STINKHORN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various ill-smelling brown-capped fungi of the order Phallales

Example:

the foul smell of the stinkhorn attracts insects that carry the spores away on their feet

Synonyms:

carrion fungus; stinkhorn

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("stinkhorn" is a kind of...):

fungus (an organism of the kingdom Fungi lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter; ranging from unicellular or multicellular organisms to spore-bearing syncytia)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stinkhorn"):

common stinkhorn; Phallus impudicus (a common fungus formerly used in preparing a salve for rheumatism)

Phallus ravenelii (this stinkhorn has a cap with a granulose surface at the apex and smells like decaying flesh)

dog stinkhorn; Mutinus caninus (a stinkhorn having a stalk without a cap; the slimy gleba is simply plastered on its surface near the apex where winged insects can find it)

Pseudocolus fusiformis; stinky squid (a stinkhorn of genus Pseudocolus; the fruiting body first resembles a small puffball that soon splits open to form a stalk with tapering arms that arch and taper to a common point)

Holonyms ("stinkhorn" is a member of...):

order Phallales; Phallales (order of fungi comprising the stinkhorns and related forms whose mature hymenium is slimy and fetid; sometimes placed in subclass Homobasidiomycetes)

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