wrote in message
oups.com...
Last year I bought what I was told were cedar chips. Along with these
"cedar chips", I believe I also received spores of a REALLY REALLY
foul-smelling red-colored mushroom. When one of these "mushrooms"
first pop out of the ground, it's about 3/4" in diameter, then it grows
into the shape of, I kid you not, a penis. Fully mature, it's about
12" long, 3/4" in diameter, red in color, slimy, and stinks worse than
cat shit! Yes, the smell is so bad, even when it first pops out of the
ground, it attracts flies like crazy and is strong enough to drive you
into the house. What I've been doing as soon as I notice one starting
to grow is I grab as much of it as I can with an old Walmart bag, like
you would if you were to pick up a dog pile. Is it possible to
erradicate these "mushrooms" from my yard by doing this? Or am I just
helping spread the spores?

Please tell me what these horrid-smelling "mushrooms" are, and how I
can get rid of them!

Oh, BTW, I live in north Florida.

Patrick


It's a stinkhorn fungus. The name is self explanatory. Once the spores are
in your yard as long as you have the right conditions (rotting vegetation,
mulch, compost etc + moisture + warm temperatures) then they will keep
poping up. Cutting off the fruiting body (the phallic bit) before its
little gills open ( you will need to be quick, these erections don't last
long) and release the spores may contain the spread but don't count on it.

David