Coprinopsis atramentaria (Common Ink Cap)
Family
Psathyrellaceae
Location
North America, Europe
Dimensions
Cap 3-7 cm tall * variable diameter, stem 7-14 cm tall * 1-1.5 cm thick
Edibility
This site contains no information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms.
Description
Coprinopsis atramentaria, is commonly known as the common ink cap, inky cap or alcohol inky cap. It is a medium-sized conical agaric, that is greyish-brownish, later blackening and dissolves itself in a black ink-like liquid at maturity. It grows generally in tufts, in fields, gardens and waste ground, near broad-leaf tree stumps or buried wood.

Cap egg-shaped when young, expanding to become conical-convex with age. The colour is grey to grey-brown. The flesh is white in young specimens but soon discolours and deliquesces slowly from the margin, fairly thin in relation to size and fragile. Gills attached to the stem or free from it, crowded, whitish, becoming black. Stem white and smooth, with fine reddish-brown fibrils at the base and hollow inside. Spore print black.

Microscopic Features: The spores are smooth and have an ellipsoidal to almond-shaped appearance. They measure 7.5-11 x 4.5-6μm and have an apical germ pore.

Coprinopsis atramentaria on the First Nature Web site.
Coprinopsis atramentaria on the MushroomExpert.Com Web site.

Many mushrooms are poisonous and some are lethally poisonous. It can be very difficult to distinguish between an edible and a poisonous mushroom. Because of that, we strongly advise against consuming wild mushrooms, and this site does not contain any information about the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms.

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