The species was first described under the name Satyrus rubicundus by French botanist Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc in 1811,[2] from collections made in South Carolina.

After expanding, the fruit bodies are up to 15 cm (5.9 in) tall, and consist of a hollow cylindrical stalk supporting a conical to bell-shaped cap.

[6] Phallus rubicundus is often confused with the similar Mutinus elegans, but the latter species does not have a clearly separated cap, and instead bears its gleba on the apex of its pointed stalk.

[9] One study noted that mosquitoes, attracted to the smell of the gleba, perish after consuming it, and so the fungus may be suitable for further investigating as a biocontrol agent.

It is widely distributed in southern and eastern United States (including Hawaii[7]), having possibly been spread through the use of imported wood mulch in landscaping.