Ileodictyon cibarium
Ileodictyon cibarium is a saprobic species of fungus in the family Phallaceae. It is found in Australia,[1] New Zealand and South Africa, where it commonly known as the basket fungus or the white basket fungus, alluding to the fruit bodies that are shaped somewhat like a round or oval ball with interlaced or latticed branches. While the immature volvae are edible, the mature fruit body is foul-smelling and covered with a slime layer containing spores on the inner surfaces.
Basket fungus | |
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Species: | I. cibarium |
Binomial name | |
Ileodictyon cibarium Tul. (1844) | |
Ileodictyon cibarium | |
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![]() float | |
![]() | 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 |
Description
![](../I/NZ_basket_fungus_(Ileodictyon_cibarium).JPG.webp)
Prior to the opening of the volva, the fruit body is egg-shaped and white to grayish in color. After opening, it is a whitish ball of meshes.
Habitat
![](../I/Cross_section_of_the_unopened_fruiting_body_of_the_New_Zealand_basket_fungus_(Ileodictyon_cibarium)%252C_next_to_a_ballpoint_pen..JPG.webp)
This fungus grows alone or clustered together near woody debris, in lawns, gardens, and cultivated soil.
Edibility
The immature volvae are edible however unappealing.
References
- "Ileodictyon cibarium". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2017-06-16.