Ileodictyon cibarium

Basket fungus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Phallales
Family:	Phallaceae
Genus:	Ileodictyon
Species:	I. cibarium
Binomial name
Ileodictyon cibarium Tul. (1844)

Ileodictyon cibarium
Mycological characteristics
	glebal hymenium
	no distinct cap
	hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
	lacks a stipe
	spore print is olive-brown
	ecology is saprotrophic
	edibility: edible

Ileodictyon cibarium is a saprobic species of fungus in the family Phallaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand, where it commonly known as the basket fungus or the white basket fungus, alluding to the fruiting bodies that are shaped somewhat like a round or oval ball with interlaced or latticed branches. While the immature volvae are edible, the mature fruiting body is foul-smelling and covered with a slime layer containing spores on the inner surfaces.

NZ basket fungus (Ileodictyon cibariu) mature fruiting body, showing covering of green/brown slime containing spores

Description

Prior to the opening of the volva, the fruiting body is egg-shaped and white to grayish in color. After opening, it is a whitish ball of meshes.

Habitat

This fungus grows alone or clustered together near woody debris, in lawns, gardens, and cultivated soil.

Cross section of the unopened fruiting body of the New Zealand basket fungus (Ileodictyon cibarium), next to a ballpoint pen

Edibility

The immature volvae are edible, if unappealing.

External links

• Index Fungorum
• New Zealand Fungi
• Mushroom Expert