Stinkhorn, Part Deux

My friend found more stinkhorns in her front yard yesterday!! WOW!! Here are a couple of versions of her photo:

She said that they smell a bit like dirty socks.

According to MushroomExpert.com:
Stinkhorns occur "naturally" in North America, especially in subtropical and tropical regions--but some stinkhorn fruitings in temperate and north-temperate climates may be caused by human endeavors, resulting from the transportation of soil, sod, wood chips, trees, and so on.

and:

The method the stinkhorns use to disperse spores is quite ingenious, though a little disgusting to human sensibilities. The foul-smelling slime is calculated to attract flies and other insects, who land on the slime and gobble it up. Little do the insects know that they have been duped into covering their little insect feet with stinkhorn spores, and have ingested spores into their digestive tracts! Later, these spores are dispersed by the unwitting insects, and the stinkhorn life-cycle continues elsewhere.

I think that's how she first found the stinkhorn -- she saw a gathering of flies.

All hail the mighty stinkhorn!!!