The exquisite, lace-clad fungus that once graced the Qing dynasty's imperial banquets

Food & Drink · Published 4 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Known as the 'bridal veil' or 'veiled lady,' Phallus indusiatus is a biological marvel. This mushroom features a delicate, white, net-like skirt that hangs toward the ground, masking a greenish-brown, foul-smelling slime designed to trick insects into spreading its spores.

The Phallus indusiatus, often called the bamboo mushroom, is a member of the Phallaceae family. Its growth is remarkably rapid; it can rise by 12.5 cm in a single hour between 7 and 8 am, reaching heights of up to 25 cm. This sudden emergence follows a period spent inside an egg-shaped structure called a peridium. While its appearance is visually stunning, the mature fruit body produces a sickly-sweet odor of carrion to attract flies and bees, which consume the spore-laden slime and disperse the fungus through their excrement.

Beyond its aesthetics, the mushroom holds deep cultural and culinary significance. In China, it has been used in medicine since the 7th century CE and is a staple of haute cuisine. It was a prized ingredient for Empress Dowager Cixi, appearing in the 'Bird's Nest Eight Immortals Soup' served for her 60th birthday. Historically, its scarcity made it a luxury, with dried prices in Hong Kong reaching approximately US $770 per kilogram in 1982.

Modern science is exploring the mushroom's complex biochemistry. It contains polysaccharides like β-D-glucan, which has shown anti-inflammatory and tumor-suppressing activity in laboratory models. Researchers have also identified compounds like dictyoquinazol, which may protect neurons from neurotoxins, and the antibiotic albaflavenone. However, some popular claims, such as its efficacy as an aphrodisiac, remain unproven; a 2001 study involving sixteen women reported subjective sensations, but the results have faced criticism and lack reproduction in major scientific journals.

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