These little guys were found growing behind my garage in late May in Bellevue, NE. They look like baby red potatos and are about 1 1/2 to 2 inches across. Oblong. They have no stem and are connected to the mycelium via a single small white strand at the bottom. I've waited a few days to see if they turn into stemmed mushrooms, but they don't seem to be. Seems like this is it for them. Appreciate any help. Edit: they just slightly poke through the ground's surface. I was unable to get a spore print.
That is definitely a stinkhorn egg. The outside looks purplish to me, so that would mean Phallus hadriani (or similar looking stinkhorn egg). Please see http://www.mushroomexpert.com/phallus_impudicus.html.
Awesome MycoRob, it looks almost exactly like the stinkhorn egg in the photos. Thank you so much. Now, I wonder if I just wasn't patient enough to see the mushroom develop... maybe there will be more. Thanks again! (Tipularia: that's what I was thinking- a puffball of some sort, but I had no luck identifying anything that resembled what I had. Thanks for responding!)
Often you will see more in the same area? Even from year to year. Pretty neat find! They're fascinating to see in their sporing stages as well.
