Lysurus | |
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Lysurus mokusin | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Agaricomycetes |
Order: | Phallales |
Family: | Phallaceae |
Genus: | Lysurus Fr. (1823) |
Type species | |
Lysurus mokusin (L.) Fr. (1823)
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Synonyms[1] | |
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Lysurus is a genus of fungi in the Phallaceae, a family known collectively as the stinkhorn fungi. The species have a widespread distribution, but are specially prevalent in tropical areas.[2]
The fruit bodies of Lysurus fungi are characterized by having short, thick arms which are upright, and may separate slightly in age.[3] The inner surfaces of the arms are covered with a slimy spore mass called gleba, which typically has a fetid smell to attract insects to assist in spore dispersal. Viewed with a light microscope, Lysurus spores are narrowly ellipsoidal in shape, brownish in color, and have dimensions of 4–5 by 1.5–2 µm.[3]