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Shaggy Mane, Shaggy Ink Cap, Lawyer's Wig
1 public strain
Coprinus comatus, the shaggy mane, is the type species of Coprinus in the family Agaricaceae. Its tall, cylindrical white cap is covered in shaggy brownish scales, and the gills dissolve into black, spore-laden ink from the margin upward. It grows in lawns, along gravel roads and in waste ground, and it kills and digests nematodes.
Choice edible when young, before the gills begin to blacken. Cook soon after picking, as blackening parts turn bitter. It does not cause the coprine reaction with alcohol. Look-alikes include Coprinopsis atramentaria (coprine; reacts with alcohol), Coprinopsis picacea (poisonous) and young Chlorophyllum molybdites (the 'vomiter', which has a green spore print). Discard specimens with pink or black gills.
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