Pages

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

FEATURED FUNGUS FRIEND


Coprinoid Mushrooms
aka. The Inky Caps

Inky caps assist in the decomposition of wood, manure, grassy debris, forest litter, and more.  Most species have black spore prints and gills that liquefy at maturation.  The "ink" that results is why the common name of “inky caps” has come about and amazingly enough it can be used as writing ink.

Inky cap identification ranges from easy to extremely difficult.  Many are “ephemeral”, meaning they live for one day; they grow, liquefy, and turn into black mush within a matter of hours.  Microscopic examination of various features is the only way to truly identify the species.  To add to the confusion coprinoid mushrooms are now distributed among four genera: Coprinus, Parasola, Coprinopsis, and Coprinellus.

Key to Coprinoid Mushrooms:
Kuo, M. (2008, February). Coprinoid mushrooms: The inky caps. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site


No comments:

Post a Comment

Let us know what you think!