PHALLALES order

This order includes members of the Phallaceae family, which include primarily stinkhorns. Stinkhorns have a layer of gelatinous or mucilaginous gleba - the spore mass, which once exposed to air emits odors that mimic dead flesh.  Insects and other animals attracted to these smells eat and spread the spores via their contact with their body parts and through defication.

Click on the thumbnail below to see photos of several northeastern species in the following genera:

Mutinus, Phallus, Pseudocolus