True Facts: Stinkhorns

this is Elsa Elsa is a red caged stink horn mushroom in the fungal family fillet CI Elsa would like to show you something she's a bit nervous we're all friends here Elsa go ahead there here you go let's pause for a second if you've never seen a stink horn before here's a video of a kitten and a puppy just to balance you out let me back up a bit mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungus and their job is to disperse spores out into the world many mushrooms create spores on their outsides those spores are then launched into the air with mechanisms that almost act like tiny little t-shirt cannons that you might see at a game of sport other mushrooms of gas droid fungi developed their spores inside their bodies these mushrooms have different strategies to get their spores out into the world the puff ball for example needs a little squeeze oops the stink horn which is also a gas Freud really went the extra mile when the stink horn fungus is ready to fruit it forms what are called eggs these eggs are apparently very fun to cut open because everyone does it as the egg matures all parts of the mushroom are formed but they are packed together tightly like some insanely folded fleshy origami when the moment is right water is pumped into the egg through the real body of the fungus a network of silk like - called mycelium these connect to the eggs through thicker cords called rhizome morphs the water pressure causes the cells and the eggs to rapidly expand at a rate of up to five millimeters per minute the sting corn unfurls amazing honeycomb lattice like structures like the hollow bones of a beard they're both strong and lightweight in some cases able to break through asphalt Jerry I feel like these remind me of something but I just can't it's on the tip of my tongue no it's on the tip of your tongue too Jerry well I'm sure if it's on the tip of both of our tongues it'll come to one of us if it comes to you first Jerry just spit it out you can think these rapid expansions like the blowing up of a bouncy house with one exception you may have noticed the oozing slime yes there it is this slime is that oof I'm sorry this slime is the centerpiece of the stink horn strategy this gelatinous substance is called gleba and you can see it here forming on the outside part of the egg the gleba contains the spores of the stink horn fungus and Lana's because like flowers stink horns enlist the help of insects but these insects are metal like flies they don't want pastels and a scent of lavender more like vomit in the smell of rotting flesh and that's just what the gleba smells like it's kind of like a cave troll took a stab at inventing a daisy or a person with a sinus infection put an m-80 in its nostrils either way it is a thing of beauty to the Flies attracted by the scent they gather on the stink horn and feed on the gleba in the process of gobbling it all up their tiny little fly feet are covered in the spores they will carry the stink horn spores to new sources of food on the forest floor it's all over rather quickly within 48 hours all the little spore babies are off into the world and the stink horn mushrooms job is done Jerry I still can't put my finger on it but that's how it always goes you can't put your finger on it all day and then you're in bed at night and it just pops up out of nowhere a pen is useful to have by your bedside you know so you can write it down and not forget it [Music]

Channel: zefrank1

Views: 5,047,939

Rating: 4.9532199 out of 5

Keywords: true facts, ze, zefrank, stinkhorns, stinkhorn, mushrooms, science

Id: ADrBo7u3tR4

Length: 3min 39sec (219 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 20 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/default11111]

Nature never ceases to amaze me.

[u/meltingintoice]

I was just educated and amused!

[u/Relaxbro30]

That "OOF" really got me.

[u/cnidoblast]

Every time I see something like this or equally intriguing, I think that higher beings paused the human race's collective consciousnesses and planted these things. Same logic with wendigos and geologic features that resemble other things.

[u/TheMexicanJuan]

Ze Frank is back! It only took 4 years.

[u/Gloryboy811]

The whole time I just wanted this video to end. But still happy to see from ZeFrank again

[u/wordswontcomeout]

Emma's first word! Gliba!

[u/Joshua_P]

A pen is useful to have by your bedside.

Subtle

[u/mastiffmad]

I get hundreds of these in my mulch every year. They do stink pretty damn bad. The worst is the egg phase. Stepping on one or picking up one by accident is the worst. They have a very off-putting texture/consistency/weight. Not sure how to describe it. Like a testicle that's soft and squishy but has a hard inner core.