Foetidum means “stinky”. Once smelled, this odor will stick with you. Literally. I handled L. foetidum when I purchased my copy of Mushrooms Demystified, and the odor (on my copy) is a continuing reminder of that unfortunate occurance. In Smith, Smith & Weber’s key, L. foetidum is described with “Exoperidial spines free, fuscous to black, persistent, ground color with a yellowish tone at maturity.” The illustration shows mostly spines on the upper 1/3 of the fungus. Less clear is whether the entire above refers to just the spines, the gleba, or the exoperidium.
