Oddly enough, the "disgusting" culprit wasn't from some distant island or far-off land. It was right in her own backyard at the Darwin estate. The "stinkhorn mushroom," or Phallus Ravelenlii in Latin, needed to be eradicated since it looked so much like a human penis.
Etty Darwin, Charles' daughter, would set out in specialized hunting cloak and gloves, with a long pointed stick and spend the day collecting the mushrooms. In the evening, she would lock herself in the drawing room and throw them all in the fire "because of the morals of the maids."
She sounds like she would fit right in with many of today's super conservative crowd!
