Skip to main content
stinkhorn

stinkhorn

9.9
A smelly mushroom that attracts insects
  • noun
  • /ˈstɪŋkˌhɔrn/
translation icon : hongo hediondo
  • In many gardens, you can find a stinkhorn emerging from the ground, giving off a foul scent to lure insects.

Examples

  • Just don't tell the guys about the stinkhorns, OK? - Frank to: fmurphy@showmenet.net

    Fiction book (2001)
  • This is hard science, grounded in the evolutionary strategy of the stinkhorn.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Thus making the humble stinkhorn a smashing reproductive success.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • A fruit body, part of the sexual phase of the life cycle, of the stinkhorn fungus Phallus calongei, described as a new species from Pakistan in 2009.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The stinkhorn emits a strong odor that attracts flies and other insects.

  • Walking through the forest, I noticed a stinkhorn that smelled exactly like spoiled meat.

Synonyms

carrion fungus
vsstinkhorn
  • Specialized
9.9

A fungus that smells like rotten meat to attract insects

is the common single-word term for the same rotten-smelling insect-attracting fungi

Compounds

A mushroom with a strong bad smell that attracts flies

dog stinkhorn
  • Specialized
9.9

A fungus with a stalk and a slimy top that smells bad and attracts insects

How Smelly

Amorphophallus titanum
  • Specialized
9.9
stinkhorn
9.9
mushroom
236 1.0

Surface Forms

stinkhorn singular
stinkhorns plural

Morphology

stinkhorn = stink + horn (semi-transparent) = stink + horn

The parts 'stink' and 'horn' transparently describe smell and shape, but the specific lexical category 'a kind of fungus' is not predictable solely from the compound.

Etymology

Stinkhorn comes from the simple words stink ('bad smell') and horn ('pointed shape'), because the fungus often looks a little like a horn and gives off a strong smell. That's why a stinkhorn today means a fungus or mushroom with a very bad smell that even attracts insects.