Archer Clathrus (Clathrus archeri) photo and description

Archer’s Clathrus (Clathrus archeri)

• Archer flowertail
• Anthurus archer
• Archer grate

Description:

Young fruiting body up to 4-6 cm in diameter, pear-shaped or ovoid, with long mycelial strands at the base. The peridium is whitish or greyish, with a pink and brown tinge, and remains at the base of the fruiting body after rupture. From the ruptured ovoid membrane, a receptacle rapidly develops in the form of 3-8 red lobes, first fused to the top, then quickly separating and spreading, like tentacles, lobes. Subsequently, the fungus takes on a characteristic star-shaped shape, resembling a flower with a diameter of about 10 – 15 cm. This fungus does not have an obvious leg. The inner surface of the blades in structure resembles a porous, wrinkled lip, covered with dark irregular spots of olive, mucous, spore-bearing gleba, emitting a strong unpleasant odor that attracts insects.

On the section of the fungus in the ovoid stage, its multilayer structure is clearly visible: on top of the peridium, under which there is a mucous membrane resembling jelly. Together they protect the fruiting body from external influences. Below them is the core, consisting of a red receptacle, i.e. future blades of the “flower”, and in the very center a gleba is visible, i.e. spore-bearing layer of olive color. The flesh of already blossoming blades is very brittle.

Spores 6,5 x 3 µm, narrow cylindrical. Spore powder olive.

Spread:

Archer’s clathrus grows from July to October on the soil of deciduous and mixed forests, occurs in meadows and parks, and is also noted on sand dunes. Saprophyte. It is rare, but under good conditions grows in large quantities.

The similarity:

Clathrus Archer – A peculiar mushroom, not like others, but there are similar species:

Javan flowertail (Pseudocolus fusiformis syn. Anthurus javanicus), characterized by lobes converging to the top, which is noted in the Primorsky Territory, as well as in tubs with tropical plants, in particular, in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. And, quite rare, Red Lattice (Clathrus ruber).

At a young age, in the ovoid stage, it can be confused with Veselka ordinary (Phallus impudicus), which is distinguished by the green color of the flesh when cut.

The sharp, repulsive smell of the fruiting body of the Archer flowertail, as well as the bad taste of the pulp, determines the fact that the fruiting bodies of this species are correlated with inedible mushrooms. The described mushroom is not eaten.