devil's dipstick

The young fruiting bodies are initially white and spherical or egg-shaped, partially submerged in the ground, with dimensions of 2 to 3 cm (3⁄4 to 1+1⁄4 in) by 1 to 2 cm (1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in). As the fruit body matures, the egg ruptures and the spongy spore-bearing stalk emerges; fully grown, it may be from 1 to 15 cm (1⁄2 to 6 in) long and 1.5 to 2 cm (1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in) thick. The stalk is hollow and strongly wrinkled overall; its shape is cylindrical below, but it gradually tapers to a narrow apex with a small opening at the tip. The upper half of the stalk is bright red to reddish orange, and the color gradually loses intensity transforming into pinkish white below. The stalk may be straight, or slightly curved. A gelatinous greenish-brown gleba covers the upper third of the stalk in newly emerged specimens. The remains of the "egg" forms a volva around the base of the stalk. The odor of the gleba is foul; one author describes it as "sickly sweet or metallic". The spores are a greenish-brown color. Fruit bodies are attached to the substrate by whitish rhizomorphs that resemble plant roots. American mycologist Alexander H. Smith noted that the eggs are often slow to open, sometimes taking up to two weeks before the stalk expands. The spores are 4–7 by 2–3 μm, oblong-elliptical, smooth, and embedded in the gleba. …

Mutinus elegans is saprobic—deriving nutrients by breaking down dead or dying organic matter. It is commonly found in gardens and farm areas enriched with manure, near well-decayed stumps and logs, and in wood chips. A Japanese publication mentioned its occurrence in Takatsuki and Osaka-fu, where it fruited in November and December on the ground along paths or in open spaces, under or near bamboo (Phyllostachys bambusoides) and hardwoods such as the sawtooth oak, the Japanese Zelkova, and the Camphor tree. This common species has been collected in eastern North America, in the area extending from Quebec to Florida and west to the Great Lakes, Iowa, Colorado, and Texas. In Europe, it has been reported from Netherlands and in Asia, it has been collected in Japan.

The immature egg-forms of M. elegans are edible, but "not recommended". One field guides notes that the eggs of the stinkhorn fungi "taste like the seasonings that are added to them." The fetid odor of mature specimens would probably be repellent to most, although they are not considered poisonous.

Antibiotic activity. A study of 32 basidiomycete mushrooms showed that Mutinus elegans was the only species to show antibiotic (both antibacterial and antifungal) activity against all six microorganisms tested, namely, the human pathogenic bacterias Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and the yeast Candida albicans.