The malodorous smell comes from the dark greenish slimy gleba covering the inside faces of the arms, and attracts insects that help to disperse the spores.

The first appearance of this species in the literature was in 1890, under the name Colus fusiformis, when Eduard Fischer wrote a description based on a painting he found in the Paris Museum of Natural History.

Immature fruiting bodies resemble egg- or pear-shaped puffballs, grayish-brown to pale gray in color, with dimensions of 0.5 to 2.5 cm (1⁄4 to 1 in) diameter; the top surface is broken into small regions by cracks or crevices (areolate).

[8] As the fungus matures, the fruiting body cracks open and forms a stalk with tapering arms, a volva, and a spore mass known as a gleba.

However, unlike C. columnatus, the arms of P. fusiformis share a common stem, and the immature egg-form is gray or grayish brown, rather than white.

[14] Pseudocolus fusiformis has been collected from a variety of locations worldwide, including Europe,[20] Australia, Japan, Java, the Philippines, Reunion Island, the United States,[8] and Turkey.

[24] Some related species such as Phallus impudicus or Mutinus caninus are considered to be edible (or even delicacies) in the immature egg stage;[25] however, the foul smell of stinkhorns at maturity would likely deter most individuals from eating them.