Ileodictyon gracile | |
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Ileodictyon gracile, Australia | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Agaricomycetes |
Order: | Phallales |
Family: | Phallaceae |
Genus: | Ileodictyon |
Species: | I. gracile
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Binomial name | |
Ileodictyon gracile Berk. (1845)
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Synonyms | |
Protubera canescens G.W. Beaton & Malajczuk (1986) |
Ileodictyon gracile is a saprotrophic species of fungus in the family Phallaceae. It is native to Australia, where it is commonly known as the smooth cage fungus, with reference to its basidiocarps (fruit bodies), shaped like a ball with interlaced or latticed branches partly covered on the inner surfaces with a foetid slime layer containing basidiospores.
Ileodictyon gracile is similar to and sometimes confused with Ileodictyon cibarium, which is also native to Australia. Fruit bodies of both species are whitish, mesh balls of similar size, but can be differentiated by characteristics of the receptacle arms that form the mesh.[1] I. cibarium has a thicker mesh with arms that are wrinkled, wider, elliptical in cross section, and not thickened where the arms meet, compared to I. gracile.[1][2]