Little Japanese Umbrella

Description:

Commonly referred to as the Pleated Inkcap, and sometimes as the Little Japanese Umbrella, Parasola (formerly Coprinus) plicatilis is a very delicate member of the inkcap group of fungi. It occurs in short grass. This is one of the many short-lived grassland fungi that appear overnight following rain; the fruitbodies develop, expand, shed their spores and decay within 24 hours and by the next morning there is usually little or no evidence of them ever having existed ( http://www.first-nature.com/fungi/paraso... )

Habitat:

location: North America, Europe edibility: Inedible fungus colour: Brown, Grey to beige normal size: Less than 5cm cap type: Convex to shield shaped spore colour: Purplish to black habitat: Found in fields, lawns or on roadsides Coprinus plicatilis (Fr.) Fr. New syn. Parasola plicatilis Glimmeriger Scheibchentintling Pleated Inkcap Cap 0.5–1.5cm high, cylindric-ovoid expanding to shallowly convex or flat with depressed centre, buff with cinnamon centre, soon deeply grooved and greying from margin inwards. Stem 30–70 x 1–2mm, white discolouring buff from the base upwards. Smell none. Gills clay pink then grey, finally black, hardly deliquescing. Spore print black. Spores ellipsoid to almond-shaped, 10–13-8.5–10.5um. Habitat in grass on lawns at pathsides. Season spring to late autumn. Common. Edible – not worthwhile. Distribution, America and Europe ( http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/D... )

Notes:

A gazillion little coprinoid mushrooms look like Parasola plicatilis on casual inspection, so a microscope is needed for successful identification of this widely distributed and common species. It grows in grassy areas, usually in direct sunlight, and is typically found alone, scattered, or in small groups. Morphologically, Parasola plicatilis is very small (maxing out at 35 mm across when mature) and its cap is reminiscent of a tiny little umbrella. It has no universal veil, which means it lacks the dust-like or granulated coating of similar species in Coprinopsis and Coprinellus--but tiny, veil-covered species often look to the naked eye as though they have lost all traces of veil material by the time they are mature, so a microscope should be used to confirm the absence of veil remnants. The spores of Parasola plicatilis are its most distinctive feature: they are fat, angular, large (measuring about 10-13 x 8-11 µ), and feature an eccentric pore. ( http://www.mushroomexpert.com/parasola_p... ), ( http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Li... )