Coprinus comatus, Mushroom
Coprinus comatus is an edible mushroom, commonly known as Shaggy Ink Cap, Lawyer's Wig, Shaggy parasol or Shaggy Mane. It is often seen growing solitary, scattered, or in groups on lawns, along gravel roads, disturbed ground, and waste areas from spring to early winter. Shaggy Mane is widely distributed in North America. The young fruiting body first appears as white cylinder emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped cap open out. The white cap is covered with reddish-brown scales. The gills are crowded together and free from the stipe, changing color from white to pink, black and then secrete a black liquid filled with spores (hence its name 'inkcap'). The stipe is 10-37 cm tall and 1-2.5 cm in diameter, white, easily separated from the cap, smooth, hollow with a string-like strand of fibers hanging inside. It has black spore print. The mild taste, white-fleshed Coprinus comatus is an excellent edible mushroom when young, but it must be cooked as soon as possible after harvesting or the cap will turn black and unappealing, then deliquesce (auto-digest) and turn to ink. This mushroom is not found in market due to this reason.  Coprinus comatus Author: Tommy Kronkvist (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0-unported) | ||
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