Phallus indusiatus, commonly known as the veiled lady or bamboo mushroom, is a striking and unusual fungus notable for its tall, white, spongy stalk and delicate, lacy skirt-like structure called the indusium that hangs beneath the cap. The cap is covered in a dark, slimy spore mass known as the gleba, which emits a strong odour to attract flies and other insects that help disperse its spores. This species typically grows in tropical and subtropical forests, emerging from rich organic soil or decaying wood, often appearing solitary or in small groups.

Cap narrowly bell-shaped with a small hole at the apex leading into the hollow stem. The surface is reticulated with distinct pits and ridges, initially covered by a foul-smelling, greenish-brown slime (gleba) that partly obscures the texture. As the fruiting body matures, a lacy white net (indusium) is exuded from beneath the cap, hanging down like a delicate skirt around the stem. Stem is cylindrical and hollow, tapering slightly upward, emerging from a tough, membranous volva that is smooth and wrinkled on the outside, and white to pinkish or lilac-tinged on the inner surface. Spores yellow. The spores suspension in gleba makes it impossible to produce a conventional spore print.

Immature fruiting body appears as a whitish, brownish, or pinkish "egg," which when sliced reveals the stinkhorn-to-be encased in a gelatinous substance.

Microscopic Features: Spores measure 3.5–4 by 1.5–2 µm. They are elongated-ellipsoid in shape, smooth, and appear hyaline in KOH.

Phallus indusiatus on the First Nature web site.
Phallus indusiatus MushroomExpert.Com web site.

The second photo is by TecheOldFox, and the third and fourth photos are by OikosES and licensed under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.