Glistening Inkcap

Coprinus micaceus

Forests, parks, farmsteads. Spring, autumn.

Fruiting bodies small. Cap 3—5 cm across, when young egg-shaped, later broadly conical, yellowish-brown, coffee-coloured in the middle with glistening granules that quickly disappear, crimped and grooved. Gills greyish, quickly becoming greyish-brownish, black when old. Stem 3-8x0.3-0.6 cm, white, the base yellowish, fibrous. Flesh thin, yellowish, without a particular smell or taste. Characteristic features: yellow, brown fruiting bodies. Grows in groups, colonies, on rotting wood, snags, stumps, windfalls, sometimes even on the roots of living trees. Very common. Edible when young, of low value. Poisoning is possible if it is consumed with alcoholic drinks. Of interest to medical scientists.