red-cage fungus

Also known as Latticed Stinkhorn, Basket Stinkhorn, Red Cage

Emerging from a pale, gelatinous egg buried in soil or leaf litter, the red-cage fungus rapidly expands into a striking, bright orange to crimson lattice shaped like a hollow basket. The interior of the lattice branches is coated in a sticky, foul-smelling brownish gleba that smells strongly of rotting flesh. This putrid odor lures flies and carrion beetles, which crawl over the gooey slime and transport the fungal spores to new locations.