In the family Phallaceae or stinkhorns, Phallus indusiatus,
commonly called bamboo mushrooms, bamboo pith, long net stinkhorn, crinoline
stinkhorn, or veiled lady, is a fungus. It has a cosmopolitan range in tropical
regions. It is found in South Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia, where
it grows in rich soil and well-rotted woody content in woodlands and gardens. The fungus's fruit body is distinguished by a
stalk-shaped conical to bell-shaped cap and a delicate "skirt" lacy,
or indusium, hanging from under the cap and almost touching the ground. First scientifically described by the French
botanist Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1798, the species was sometimes referred to
as a separate genus Dictyophora along with other indusium-like Phallus
species.
Mature fruit bodies with a conical to bell-shaped cap that is
1.5–4 cm (0.6–1.6 in) wide are up to 25 cm (10 in) long. A greenish-brown spore-containing slime covers
the cap, attracting flies and other insects that consume and spread the spores.
In stir-frys and chicken soups, an edible mushroom featured as an ingredient in
Chinese haute cuisine is used. The
mushroom is rich in protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fiber and is cultivated
commercially and widely sold in Asian markets. There are also different bioactive compounds
in the mushroom, and it has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. In Chinese medicine, Phallus indusiatus has a
known history of use dating back to the 7th century AD and Nigerian folklore
features.
Phallus indusiatus fruiting body structure- Immature P. indusiatus fruit bodies are initially enclosed in
an egg-shaped subterranean structure in a peridium. The "egg" varies in color from
whitish to buff to reddish-brown, measures up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter, and
typically has a thick mycelial cord attached to the bottom. As the mushroom matures, the strain caused by
the enlargement of the internal structures causes the peridium to tear, and the
fruit body quickly emerges from the "egg." The mature mushroom is up to 25 cm tall and
girded with a net-like structure called the indusium (or less formally a
"skirt") hanging from the conical to a bell-like cap. The net openings of the indusium can be
polygonal or round. Well-developed specimens have an indusium that
reaches the volva and flares out slightly before collapsing on the stalk.
The cap is 1.5–4 cm (0.6–1.6 in) broad, and it's reticulated (pitted and ridged). The surface is filled with a coating of greenish-brown and foul-smelling slime, the
gleba, which is initially partially obscure. The top of the cap has a small hole. The
stalk is 7–25 cm long and 1,5–3 cm (0,6–1,2 in) thick. The hollow stalk is white, often curved, and
spongy in width across its length. The
ruptured peridium remains at the base of the stalk as a loose vulva. Fruit bodies grow throughout the night and
need 10–15 hours to develop entirely after emerging from the peridium. They are short-lived, generally lasting no
more than a few days. At that point, the slime was usually removed by insects,
leaving the pale off-white, bare-cap surface exposed.
Like all Phallus species, P. indusiatus is
saprobic — deriving from breaking down wood and organic plant matter. Fruit bodies grow alone or in groups in
disturbed soil and among wood chips. In
Asia, it grows among bamboo trees and usually fruits after heavy rains. Like
P. indusiatus, stinkhorn breeding methods vary from other agaric mushrooms,
which violently eject their spores. Instead, Stinkhorns produce a sticky spore
mass with a sharp, sickly-sweet odor of carrion. The cloying stink of mature fruit bodies —
detectable from a considerable distance — is attractive to some insects. The
species reported visiting the fungus include stingless Trigona bees and
Drosophilidae and Muscidae fly. Insects aid spore dispersal by eating the
gleba and depositing excrement containing intact spores to germinate elsewhere.
Although the indusium's role is not understood, it may visually attract insects
not otherwise attracted by the odor and serve as a ladder for crawling insects
reaching the gleba.
Phallus indusiatus has been cultivated on a commercial scale in
China since 1979. In the Fujian Province
of China — known for its booming mushroom industry, cultivates 45 edible fungi species — P. Indusiatus is grown in Fuan, Jianou, and Ningde. Developments in cultivation have made the
fungus cheaper and more widely available; in 1998, around 1,100 metric tonnes
(1,100 long tonnes; 1,200 short tonnes) were grown in China. Hong Kong's price for one kilogram of dried
mushrooms was about US$ 770 in 1982, but it had fallen to US$ 100–200 by 1988. Further developments led to a further decline
to US$ 10–20 by 2000. The fungus is
grown on agricultural waste — bamboo-trash sawdust covered by a thin layer of
non-sterilized soil. The optimum
temperature for mushroom spawn and fruit bodies' growth is about 24 ° C (75 °
F), with a relative humidity of 90–95%. Other substrates that can cultivate fungi
include bamboo leaves and small stems, soya pods or stems, corn stems, and
willow leaves.
A nutritional analysis of P. indusiatus
(based in Nigeria) showed that the fungus egg stage contains 33.6 g of crude
protein, 1.66 g of fat, and 3.98 g of carbohydrate (per 100 g of fungus, dry
weight). The egg stage also consisted of
20.9 g of dietary fiber and 88.76 percent of the moisture content. The high protein and fiber levels (comparable
to those found in meat and vegetables, respectively) indicate that the P.
indusiatus egg is a healthy food source. The concentration of many mineral
elements, including potassium, sodium, and iron, was also favorable compared to
fruit and vegetables. However, the fungus' mineral composition depends on the
corresponding concentration in the soil in which it grows.
Chemical Compounds- Phallus indusiatus was
ascribed to medicinal properties from the Chinese Tang Dynasty when mentioned
in the pharmacopeia. The fungus has been
used to treat many inflammatory, stomach, and neural diseases. Traditionally,
Miao people in Southern China continue to use it for a variety of conditions,
including injuries and pains, coughing, dysentery, enteritis, leukemia, and
fatigue, and clinically recommended care for laryngitis, leukorrhea, fever, and
oliguria (low urine output), diarrhea, hypertension, cough, hyperlipidemia, and
anticancer therapy.
Fruits of the fungus
contain biologically active polysaccharides. β-D-glucan
labeled T-5-N and prepared from alkaline extracts[61] has been shown to have anti-inflammatory
properties. Its chemical structure is a linear chain backbone made up mostly of
D-mannopyranosyl-linked D-manopyrosyl residues, with traces of
1-manopyrosyl-linked D-manopyrosyl residues.
Polysaccharide has tumor-suppressing activity against subcutaneously
implanted sarcoma 180 (transplantable, n).
Another chemical of
interest found in P. indusiatus is hydroxymethylfurfural, which has
gained attention as an inhibitor of tyrosinase. Tyrosinase catalyzes the initial steps of
melanogenesis in mammals. It is responsible for undesirable browning reactions
in damaged fruits during post-harvest handling and processing, and its
inhibitors are of interest to the medical, cosmetic, and food industries. Hydroxymethylfurfural, which exists naturally
in many foods, is not associated with significant health risks. P.
indusiatus also contains special ribonuclease (an enzyme that cuts RNA into
smaller components) with many biochemical features distinguishing it from other
known ribonuclease mushrooms.
A 2001 publication in
the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms attempted to develop its
effectiveness as an aphrodisiac. In the trial involving 16 women, six
self-reported mild orgasm experiences smelled the fruit body, and the
other 10, who received lower doses, self-reported increased heart rate. Both twenty men examined found the smell to be
displeasing. The study used fruit bodies found in Hawaii, not the edible
variety grown in China. Criticism was
received from the study. A way to
achieve instant orgasms would be expected to attract a lot of publicity, and
many attempts to replicate the effect, but none succeeded. No major science
journal has published the research, and there are no reviews in which the
findings have been replicated.
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