Glistening Inky Cap

Description:

The cap is initially 1- 2.5 cm in diameter, oval to cylindrical, but expands to become campanulate (bell-shaped), sometimes with an umbo (a central nipple-like protrusion); finally it flattens somewhat, becoming convex. When expanded, the cap diameter reaches 0.8 - 3.0 cm with the margin torn into rays and turned upwards slightly. The color is yellow-brown or tan often with a darker center, then pale yellow or buff from the margin inwards. The cap margin is prominently grooved almost all the way to the center; the grooves mark the positions of the longer gills on the underside of the cap. When young, the cap surface is covered with white or whitish shiny particles, remnants of the universal veil that covers immature specimens. The particles are loosely attached and easily washed away, so that older specimens are often smooth. It is hygrophanous- meaning, assumes different colors depending on its state of hydration.

Habitat:

It is a saprotrophic species, deriving nutrients from dead and decomposing organic matter, and grows in and around stumps or logs of broad-leaved trees or attached to buried wood. In Europe, it fruits from May to December. Although it can grow at any time of the year, it is more prevalent during the spring and fall, coinciding with the higher humidity resulting from spring and autumn rains. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, and has been collected in northern Africa, South Africa, Europe (including Turkey), North America (as far north as Alaska), the Hawaiian islands, South America, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

Notes:

Other names:mica cap, shiny cap. Coprinellus micaceus is an edible species, and cooking inactivates the enzymes that cause autodigestion or deliquescence—a process that can begin as soon as one hour after collection. It is considered ideal for omelettes, and as a flavor for sauces, although it is "a very delicate species easily spoiled by overcooking". The fungus also appeals to fruit flies of the genus Drosophila, who frequently use the fruit bodies as hosts for larvae production. A study of the mineral contents of various edible mushrooms found that C. micaceus contained the highest concentration of potassium in the 34 species tested, close to half a gram of potassium per kg of mushroom. Because the species can bioaccumulate detrimental heavy metals like lead and cadmium, it has been advised to restrict consumption of specimens collected from roadsides or other collection sites that may be exposed to or contain pollutants.