Toxic
Common inkcap
Coprinopsis atramentaria
The character that does the work
Deliquescing grey cap in a cluster. Edible on its own, and that is the trap.
The specimen sheet, in examination order
01Cap
3 to 7 cm, grey-brown, egg-shaped then bell-shaped, finely grooved, dissolving into black liquid from the margin inward.
02Underside
Crowded gills, white then black, deliquescing.
03Stem, and the base
White, hollow, with a faint ring zone low down.
04Flesh, cut
Thin, pale.
05Spore print
Black to purple-black
How to take one06Where it grows
Clustered on buried wood, in grass, on verges and in gardens.
When to look
Typically Apr to Nov in the northern hemisphere. Fruiting swings by weeks with rainfall and by a month or more with latitude, so this is when to look rather than when it will be there.
Common throughout the northern hemisphere.
What is worth knowing about it
The interesting one. It is harmless eaten alone, and it produces a violent disulfiram-like reaction if the eater drinks alcohol within roughly three days: flushing, palpitations, nausea and a genuine sense of impending doom. Nobody warns you about the three days, and people therefore blame a meal they ate two days before an entirely ordinary glass of wine.
Confused with
- Shaggy mane
This page tells you what to check. It does not tell you the mushroom in your hand is that species, and it cannot. If you are not certain, do not eat it. If you have already eaten something and feel unwell, contact a poison centre and keep an uncooked specimen.
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