Everything about Coprinus Comatus totally explained
Coprinus comatus, the
shaggy ink cap,
lawyer's wig, or
shaggy mane, is a common
fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas. The young fruiting bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped caps open out. The caps are white, and covered with scales - this is the origin of the common names of the fungus. The
gills beneath the cap are white, then pink, then turn black and secrete a black liquid filled with spores (hence the “ink cap” name). Its specific name derives from
coma, or “hair”, hence
comatus, “haired” or “shaggy”.
When young it's an excellent edible mushroom provided that it's eaten soon after being collected (it keeps very badly because of the autodigestion of its gills and cap). The species is
cultivated in China as food.
Coprinus comatus is the type species for the genus
Coprinus. This genus was formerly considered to be a large one with well over 100 species. However, molecular analysis of DNA sequences showed that the former species belonged in 2 families, the
Agaricaceae and the
Psathyrellaceae.
Coprinus comatus is the best known of the true
Coprinus. Adding to its unusual features, a recent study has found the shaggy ink cap kills
nematode species
Panagrellus redivivus and
Meloidogyne arenaria. See also
nematophagous fungus.
Description
The shaggy ink cap is easily recognizable from its cap which initially covers almost the whole of its stem. Entirely white to begin with, the cap becomes shaggy as separating scales develop. The gills change rapidly from white to pink, then to black. It is deliquescent. Microscopically it lacks pleuro
cystidia.
Distribution and habitat
It grows in groups in places which are often unexpected, such as green areas in towns. It occurs widely in grasslands and meadows in Europe and North America. It appears to have been introduced to Australia and New Zealand.
Growth
The left image below shows a young mushroom. The right image shows the same specimen 24 hours later. 'Ink' can be seen dripping from the gills.
Image:Coprinus comatus, 10th October.jpg|10th October
Image:Coprinus comatus, 11th October.jpg|11th October
Image:Coprinus comatus spores.jpg|Spores
Edibility
The young mushrooms, before the gills start to turn black, are edible. It can sometimes be used in
mushroom soup with
parasol mushroom.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Coprinus Comatus'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://coprinus_comatus.totallyexplained.com">Coprinus comatus Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
