Ileodictyon cibarium

Ileodictyon cibarium is a saprobic species of fungus in the family Phallaceae. It is found in Australia,[1] New Zealand and South Africa, where it commonly known as the basket fungus or the white basket fungus, alluding to the fruit bodies that are shaped somewhat like a round or oval ball with interlaced or latticed branches. While the immature volvae are edible, the mature fruit body is foul-smelling and covered with a slime layer containing spores on the inner surfaces.

Basket fungus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Fungi
Division:
Basidiomycota
Class:
Agaricomycetes
Order:
Phallales
Family:
Phallaceae
Genus:
Ileodictyon
Species:
I. cibarium
Binomial name
Ileodictyon cibarium
Tul. (1844)
Ileodictyon cibarium
float
Mycological characteristics
glebal hymenium
no distinct cap
hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
lacks a stipe
spore print is olive-brown
ecology is saprotrophic
edibility: edible

Description
Basket fungus mature fruit body, showing covering of green/brown slime containing spores

Prior to the opening of the volva, the fruit body is egg-shaped and white to grayish in color. After opening, it is a whitish ball of meshes.

Habitat
Cross section of the unopened fruiting body of the New Zealand basket fungus (Ileodictyon cibarium), next to a ballpoint pen

This fungus grows alone or clustered together near woody debris, in lawns, gardens, and cultivated soil.

Edibility

The immature volvae are edible however unappealing.

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References
  1. "Ileodictyon cibarium". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
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