Shaggy Ink Cap / Lawyer's Wig

Coprinus comatus

Fields, pastures, squares, parks, fallow land, forest roadsides, clearings. Summer (rarely), autumn, even after frosts.

Fruiting bodies large. Cap 6-15 (18) cm tall and 2-4 cm wide, when young elongated conical, cylindrical, when old bell-shaped conical; the surface at first smooth, later cracked, breaking up into large, recurved scales. Young gills white, old ones brownish-black, black, crowded, fragile, soft, free; when old they liquefy and drip off in thick drops. Stem 8-20 (30)x2-4 cm, cylindrical, slightly thickening towards the base, white, finely fibrous, with a white movable ring. Flesh white, soft, with a pleasant smell and taste. Characteristic features: white, shaggy mushrooms growing in open places. Grows in groups, colonies or singly, in fertile places. Very common. Eaten young; tasty, especially fresh with a sour cream sauce. In some countries it is cultivated to make mushroom juice.