Shaggy Ink Cap toadstools (Coprinus comatus) with open caps in grass and trees

Shaggy Ink Caps

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  • Newly emerged Shaggy Ink Cap toadstools (Coprinus comatus) with closed caps
  • Shaggy Ink Cap toadstools (Coprinus comatus) with open caps in grass at the base of a tree
  • Shaggy Ink Cap toadstools (Coprinus comatus) with open caps in grass at the base of a tree
  • Newly emerged Shaggy Ink Cap toadstools (Coprinus comatus) with closed caps
  • Shaggy Ink Cap toadstools (Coprinus comatus) with open caps in grass at the base of a tree

Shaggy Ink Caps, also known as Shaggy Caps or Lawyer’s Wigs (Coprinus comatus). These are a commonly occurring fungus in the UK and are edible. They are best eaten before the conical enclosed cap of the newly emerged fungus has opened up. The cap expands from below. The gills change colour progressively from white, to pink, then black, prior to auto-digesting (they seem to turn to black ink that falls away from the aging cap. These specimens were among many clusters that were growing in the grass around the base of a tree at Kingston Maurward near Dorchester in Dorset, 15 October 2021.

11 Replies to “Shaggy Ink Caps”

  9. You are quite right and very wise. Even with the best books, many fungi look alike to to an amateur, and it is not worth the possible risk of eating something that has not been identified by an experienced person. The only wild and foraged fungus I have eaten was collected by a friend who knew about such things – it was a giant puffball. I seem to recall that the taste was rather bland and disappointing even when fried with onions and bacon.

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