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Project Noah Nature School
Coprinellus Domesticus
The young oval caps start out pale and covered in a whitish floccules made up of universal veil fragments. The mushrooms darken with age, expanding to a convex or conical shape. The gills blacken, eventually deliquescing , turning into black ink, starting from the margins. (This can be seen through the thin edges of the caps in the second picture)
These are one of several types of mushrooms growing on a woodpile (of elm logs piled under a mature pine tree) in our yard that has been left neglected and uncovered for a few years now. This is a wood rotting fungus that help the dead wood decay. The orangey fuzz the mushrooms are growing from is called an ozonium.
The first picture was taken in low light (in the evening) and my little point and click camera couldn't cope very well, so I determined to try again in better light. Two mornings later I went out to do just that, but found the remaining mushrooms had all matured and now looked quite different. (second picture. Please note the flash went off in this one causing my little digital point and click camera to "correct" coloring very differently) I noticed the edges of the caps (the margins) were "stained" an(inky) black. It was fairly early so was still too dark for my little camera so I waited until noon and went out once more to try for clearer ones. I found the mushrooms have a much shorter lifespan than I'd expected. Just 5 hours later the caps were now shriveled up, the stems were thin and wilty looking, and they were covered with very happy gnats. (third and fourth pictures)
Spotted on Aug 6, 2008
Submitted on Aug 10, 2012
5 Comments
Thank you, pouihi.
I wasn't aware the mushrooms were digesting themselves - I guess I thought that was how the gills decay. Fascinating! I'd figured, now that I knew what I wanted to have a look at an take pictures of, I'd get second series of pictures focusing on a single set mushroom, this time focusing on the gills but it turns out I was just lucky that I happened to be out there at that time. They've not done a repeat performance.
Thank you, Dixie
I like your description details. I like your notes on how you took your pics too.
Thank you, Maria! I admit I was a little taken aback when I could not 'find' exactly the same two mushrooms shown in the first picture (I know not to skip a day now), but I'm delighted to show what difference just 5 hours made with the others. Being quite new to mushrooms I'm extra fascinated with the orange carpet (though 'mine' tends to run a lot paler than seen in everyone else's photos. Perhaps it also darkens as it ages?) I'm still trying to sort out whether the white stuff (best seen in the fourth image) is also the same fungus or something else.
great series showing what happens to the fungus with the passage of time!