Coprinopsis lagopus - Hare'sfoot Inkcap

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Agaricales

Mature Hare’sfoot Inkcaps look so unlike the immature form that it is hard to believe that the transition between the two does not involve some kind of metamorphosis, as when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The furry white coating that initially covers caps and stems disappears as the caps change from egg-shaped to convex and flat, the rim finally turning upwards and shrinking in diameter to produce an inrolled margin that creates a shallow, translucent bowl.

Seen in bright sunlight the intricate beauty of these delicate little inkcaps is quite stunning. Increasingly common on the relatively new urban habitat of woodchip mulch, in the wild this mushroom grows on humus-rich soil and leaf litter, most commonly beside woodland tracks and rides under deciduous trees.

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	1 to 3cm across and initially to 4cm tall; egg-shaped, becoming conical and then flat with a striate margin, the edges turning upwards when old; grey-brown, covered in ephemeral white scales; short lived, deliquescing from the rim within a few hours of becoming fully expanded.
Gills	Adnexed or free; crowded; white, turning slightly reddish and then black before deliquescing, together with the cap, starting at the rim.
Stem	4 to 10cm long and 3 to 6mm dia.; white with ephemeral white scales; no ring.
Spore print	Violaceous black.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	Humus-rich soil, leaf litter, and increasingly on woodchip mulch.
Season	May to November.
Occurrence	Common.
	Similar species In the early stages of development (left), when the caps are 'furry' like the feet of hares, these inkcaps could be confused with Coprinellus niveus, the Snowy Inkcap, which grows on dung and occasionally on rotting straw.