Volume 26, Issue 78, July - December, 2025

Stinkhorns: two new distribution report and morphological study of dog stinkhorn (Mutinus caninus) and jacaranda stinkhorn (Itajahya galericulata) from Rajasthan, India

Renu Jangid, Shruti Ojha^♦, Arvind Pareek

Department of Botany, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

^♦Corresponding Author
Shruti Ojha, Department of Botany, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

ABSTRACT

Stinkhorns are a group of fungi (family Phallaceae, order Phallales), known for their phallus-like, foul-smelling fruiting bodies. Their characteristic smell attracts flies and other insects, which help disperse the spores. Two new distribution reports of species of stinkhorn (Mutinus caninus and Itajahya galericulata) have been identified and described from the state Rajasthan, India. The samples were collected from Maharshi Dayanand University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India, during the monsoon season ranging from June to September, 2025. To verify its identity, habitats, distribution and morphological characteristics (color, size, and shape of fruiting body, gleba, cap, stem) were studied. Calyptra is present in Itajahya galericulata but absent in Mutinus caninus. The morphological characteristics of the collected specimens were compared with the earlier reported specimens from Europe, South America, Africa, and India. The identification shows no previous reporting of the two species of Mutinus caninus and Itajahya galericulata from Rajasthan to date. However, the two Phallaceae species have been reported from India including Tamil Nadu and Gujrat states.

Keywords: Itajahya galericulata, Mutinus caninus, Phallaceae, Rajasthan, Stinkhorns

Species, 2025, 26(78), e48s3219

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v26i78.e48s3219

Published: 01 December 2025