Red cage
Clathrus ruber · 红笼头菌
Occasional鬼笔科❓ Edibility Unknown
Edibility is unknown and should be treated as poisonous.
The same species can be described differently across regions and stages of maturity, and countless look-alike species cannot be told apart by eye. Never use the information on this page to judge whether a real mushroom is safe to eat.
How to Tell
- Bright red, cage-like lattice, stemless
- Emerges from a white "egg"; inner walls bear foul-smelling spore mass
- Grows in gardens and on wood-chip mulch
ID notes are compiled by AI from public sources, not reviewed by a mycologist, for learning only — never a basis for foraging.
Basics
- Family
- 鬼笔科
- Hymenium
- Gleba
- Grows On
- Leaf Litter
- How Big
- 5–15 cm (overall size)
- Encounter Rate
- Occasional
- Habitat
- Garden mulch and humus
Easily Confused With
Devil's fingersBright red, tentacle-like arms that spread out starfish-likeFun Fact
It bursts from a white 'egg' into a bright red, lattice-like cage in just a few hours, the inside smeared with foul-smelling spore slime.