It is a fungus that I come across in the forest every summer. It always fascinates with its sophisticated shape and an equally sophisticated smell, which is unbearable for humans, because it resembles the stench of decaying carcass. But to lower-level creatures, it is like an expensive perfume.
The phallic shape, which is unambiguously associated by women and men (mainly because of the smell) with the male member, is easy to locate in the beech forest, due to its size and smell. Many men, seeing such a miracle in the forest, fall into complexes.
The whole thing hatches from an egg, also known as a "devil's egg", and its diameter can reach up to 5 cm. An egg like this egg is usually ovoid or spherical in shape. In this form it is odorless and edible. They can be eaten raw, fried or pickled.
A mature fruiting body at the very tip or cap is covered with gray mucus, with a very unpleasant smell that attracts various insects. This mucus contains spores of the fungus, and the insects that sit on it are a natural transport for these spores.
The leg can be very long (for men with complexes, I suggest skipping this paragraph) and it can reach over 25 cm. It has a cylindrical shape and is spongy and delicate. The flesh is tender, but only edible when the fungus is egg-shaped. Of course, supporters of Swedish pickled herring will eat even the ripe fruiting bodies of this mushroom without stuttering.
