Red Cage

Red Cage Clathrus ruber Pers. (illustrated 35% life size) Fruit body egg-shaped, white to greyish volva, bursting open to show a lattice, 10×6cm, orange-red with greenish-black spore-bearing material on the inside; the mycelium commonly forms into ‘rooting’ rhizomorphs. Flesh spongy, rather brittle; smell strong, fetid, attractive to flies. Spores 4.5–5.5×2–2.5¼; olive-brown. Habitat in gardens and on rubbish heaps throughout Europe; late summer to autumn. Uncommon, rare in the north. Not edible.