Common stinkhorn mushroom (Phallus impudicus). The mushroom is the fruiting body, reproductive structure, of the fungus. It can grow up to 25 centimetres in height. At the base of the mushroom is its egg, or universal veil, which encloses and protects the immature mushroom. This mushroom gets its name from the foul-smelling spore-laden slime on its tip. The smell attracts flies, to which the spores, the reproductive cells, stick and so are dispersed. Photographed in October in Cornwall, UK.