Coprinellus impatiens

Coprinellus impatiens

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Family: Psathyrellaceae

Similar to the Fairy Inkcap (also kinown as the Trooping Inkcap), Coprinellus disseminatus, but larger and with distinctive ‘piano key’ grooves almost to the cap centre, this rather uncommon (in Britain and Ireland) mushroom occurs in small groups on deciduous broadleaf litter; it is most often seen under Beeches on chalky soil. (The specimens pictured here were among bark fragments and accumulated leaf litter that th wind had swept beneath an old spreading Beech tree.)

Note: inkcap is sometimes written as ink-cap or ink cap, and in the USA the terms inky cap or inky-cap are used.

Identification guide

Cap

2 to 4cm across, initially oval becoming convex and finally bell-shaped; deeply furrowed; light ochre with a light orange central ’eye’; turning grey and eventually black but not deliquescing.

Gills

Adnexed or free; creamy-beige, turning grey.

Stem

4 to 9cm long and 0.2 to 0.4cm dia.; white; silky smooth; no ring.

Spore print

Very dark brown, almost black.

Odour/taste

Not distinctive.

Habitat

Among leaf litter beneath deciduous broadleaf trees, notably Beeches, and nearly always on lime-rich soil..

Season

June to November.

Occurrence

Uncommon in most parts of Britain and Ireland.

Similar species

 

The Glistening Inkcap, Coprinellus micaceus, is of similar size and colouring but when young the caps are covered in mica-like scales.