Coprinus - Inky Caps
This is the shaggy mane, known as Coprinus comatus, a much sought-after mushroom in the Rocky Mountains and around the world. I've found this cosmopolitan mushroom in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The first image shows the stages of autodigestion that the mushroom displays. Enzymes from the ripening fruit body turn the white fertile tissue pink, and then black, as the spores ripen and the tissue around them "deliquesces" or melts. On a warm day, the new shaggy manes will melt by 2 or 3 pm. At least you know they are fresh!
Shaggys are a popular edible, but you must stop the deliquescence or you won't want to eat them. Popular methods include submerging them fresh and whole into a strong brine solution, or dry-sauteing them until they surrender their liquid. There are also techniques for freezing them. I know of no one who has successfully dried them!
Coprinus comatus used to be the type species for the genus Coprinus, and the cornerstone for the entire Coprinaceae, but mycological detective work revealed that the many mushrooms that exhibit deliquescence are unrelated. Instead, in an impressive example of convergent evolution, this trait has arisen several times from several different groups of unrelated fungi; many species have developed the ability to digest themselves in order to better reproduce!
There have been name changes to members of this group - the new names are in green.
Coprinus dissemninatus mindo
Coprinellus disseminatus
Coprinus comatus
Coprinoid fungi
Here are some deliquescent fungi, previously found in the Coprinus genus:
New name of Coprinopsis atramentaria
Coprinus atramentarius group, from Russia. Growing in a debris pile in a contaminated mining area.
Coprinus atramentarius Be sure you can distinguish this mushroom, called the Tippler's Bane, from the Shaggy Mane. This common inky cap shows up under maples in Missoula lawns and in woody debris around the temperate world. Eating this mushroom disables your body's alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes, leaving you vulnerable to alcohol poisoning. It also disrupts neurological function in combination with alcohol. I sincerely do not recommend eating this mushroom in combination with alcohol; it is not a way to have fun.
Newly named Coprinopsis lagopus
Coprinus lagopus
This charming autodigester is usually found on animal dung in wet areas.
Parasola miser is part of a new genus includes P. plicata, but not C. disseminatus, which stayed with the Coprinopsis group.
Coprinus miser loves to grow on mulch. Its tiny size and speedy self digestion cause it to be often overlooked.
Newly named Coprinopsis radiata
Coprinus radiata grows on horse puckey. This one grew up in a dung garden, which is a piece of dung placed in a saucer of water and covered with a transparent bowl. You can grow lots of interesting fungi in dung gardens. Now go outside and play. And wash your hands!
Newly named Coprinopsis nivea
Coprinus nivea
