Jasminium didymum

illustrtated by Harriet Anne Hooker Thiselton-Dyer in 1878

Harriet Anne Hooker Thiselton-Dyer was the daughter of Joseph Hooker and, as I have said, helped out for a couple of years until Matilda Smith took over. Jasminium didymum grows wild in Asia and Australia and is related to he sweet smelling Jasmin we grow indoors in the winter.

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Have you ever wandered the Autumn woods, perhaps looking for fungi, and you came across a truly horrible smell, like rotting carrion? It is a fungus. It is not one you would accidentally stumble across because it announces itself yards in advance. This fungus smell attracts flies which crawl over its fruiting body and get coated in spores. It is the fungus’ means of dispersal. They are known as stinkhorns.