Common Vesyolka (Phallus impudicus)
- Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Phallomycetidae (Velkovye)
- Order: Phallales (Merry)
- Family: Phallaceae (Veselkovye)
- Genus: Phallus (Veselka)
- Type: Phallus impudicus (Common Vesyolka)
- Upstart
- Damn egg
- witch egg
- The shyster
- earth oil
- Kokushki
The fruiting body of the rainbow: Veselka has two stages of development. The first – the mushroom has an ovoid shape 3-5 cm wide and 4-6 cm high, the color is off-white, yellowish. There is something slimy under the dense skin of the veselka, and a more rigid structure is felt under the mucus. Veselka stays in the egg stage for a very long time, perhaps several weeks. Then the egg cracks, and the veselka begins to grow upward at a high rate (up to 5 mm per minute). Soon a fruiting body is formed with a high (10-15 cm, sometimes more) hollow stem and a small adjoining hat covered with brown-olive mucus. Under the mucus, the cap has a cellular structure, which is noticeable at a more mature age, when the mucus is eaten by flies. After emerging from the egg stage, the common vessel emits a very strong smell of carrion, which attracts insects.
Spore powder: Dissolved in brown mucus covering the cap; eating mucus, insects carry spores.
Spread: Veselka “eggs” appear in mid-July; cap-shaped fruiting bodies develop somewhat later. Grows in grass, shrubs, deciduous woodlands. Obviously prefers rich soils.
Similar species: In the egg stage, the common veselka can be confused with any false raincoat or other representative of the veselkov family; a mature mushroom is so characteristic that it is impossible to confuse it with any other mushroom, even with all the desire.
Edibility: It is believed that in the egg stage the mushroom is edible; lovers, presumably, there are few. At the same time, it should be noted that veselka is actively used in folk medicine – in particular, as a means of increasing potency (which is not surprising, given the characteristic appearance and growth rate of the fungus).
Video about the fungus Vesyolka vulgaris:
