Coprinus comatus

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Species of fungus

title: "Coprinus comatus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["agaricaceae", "fungi-described-in-1780", "fungi-of-europe", "fungi-of-new-zealand", "edible-fungi", "carnivorous-fungi", "fungal-pest-control-agents", "fungi-of-iceland", "fungus-species", "fungi-used-for-fiber-dyes"] description: "Species of fungus" topic_path: "geography/new-zealand" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprinus_comatus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of fungus ::

Agaricus comatus O.F.Müll. (1780)
Agaricus vaillantii J.F.Gmel. (1792) | name = Coprinus comatus | whichGills = free | capShape = conical | hymeniumType=gills | stipeCharacter=ring | ecologicalType=saprotrophic | sporePrintColor=black | howEdible=choice

Coprinus comatus, commonly known as the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a species of fungus. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then the bell-shaped caps open out. The white caps are covered with scales, the origin of its common names. The gills beneath the cap are white, then pink, then turn black. This mushroom is unusual because it will turn black and dissolve itself in a matter of hours after being picked or depositing spores.

The mushroom is often seen growing about lawns, gravel roads, and waste areas in the Northern Hemisphere and more locally in the Southern Hemisphere. When young it is an excellent edible mushroom but it spoils quickly and resembles some poisonous species.

Taxonomy

The shaggy ink cap was first described by Danish naturalist Otto Friedrich Müller in 1780 as Agaricus comatus, before being given its current binomial name in 1797 by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. Its specific name derives from coma, or "hair", hence comatus, "hairy" or "shaggy". Other common names include lawyer's wig, and shaggy mane.

Coprinus comatus is the type species for the genus Coprinus. This genus was formerly considered to be a large one with well over 100 species. However, molecular analysis of DNA sequences showed that the former species belonged in two families, the Agaricaceae and the Psathyrellaceae. Coprinus comatus is the best known of the true Coprinus.

Description

The shaggy ink cap is easily recognizable from its almost cylindrical cap which initially covers most of its stem. The cap ranges from 4-8 cm in width and 6-20 cm in height. It is mostly white with shaggy scales, which are more pale brown at the apex.

The free gills change rapidly from white to pink, then deliquesces (melts) into a black liquid filled with spores (hence the "ink cap" name). It is deliquescent. The white and fairly thick stipe measures 6–40 cm high by 1–2.5 cm in diameter and has a loose ring near the bottom. Microscopically, the mushroom lacks pleurocystidia. The spore print is black-brown and the spores measure 10–13 by 6.5–8 μm. The flesh is white and the taste mild.

Similar species

The mushroom can be confused with the poisonous Coprinopsis picacea (magpie fungus). In America, the 'vomiter' mushroom Chlorophyllum molybdites is responsible for most cases of mushroom poisoning due to its similarity with shaggy mane and other edible mushrooms. Coprinopsis atramentaria (the common ink cap) is similar, and contains coprine which can induce coprine poisoning, particularly when consumed with alcohol. Podaxis pistillaris is also similar.

Habitat and distribution

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Coprinus_comatus_(30661168342).jpg" caption="''Coprinus comatus'' in its habitat"] ::

It grows in groups in grasslands and meadows in North America and Europe, from June through to November in the United Kingdom. It appears to have been introduced to Australia, New Zealand and Iceland.

Ecology

Coprinus comatus is a nematophagous fungus capable of killing and digesting the nematode species Panagrellus redivivus and Meloidogyne arenaria.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1128/AEM.02770-06 | pmid = 17449690 | title = Coprinus comatus Damages Nematode Cuticles Mechanically with Spiny Balls and Produces Potent Toxins to Immobilize Nematodes | journal = Applied and Environmental Microbiology | volume = 73 | issue = 12 | pages = 3916–23 | year = 2007 | last1 = Luo | first1 = H. | last2 = Liu | first2 = Y. | last3 = Fang | first3 = L. | last4 = Li | first4 = X. | last5 = Tang | first5 = N. | last6 = Zhang | first6 = K. | pmc=1932715| bibcode = 2007ApEnM..73.3916L }}

Edibility

It is a choice edible mushroom, especially when young, before the gills start to turn black. They should be prepared soon after being collected as the black areas quickly turn bitter. The taste is mild; cooking produces a large quantity of liquid. It can sometimes be used in mushroom soup with parasol mushroom. Large quantities, microwaved then frozen, can be used as the liquid component of risotto, replacing the usual chicken stock. While other mushrooms similar to Coprinus comatus contain coprine and are thus poisonous when consumed with alcohol, this specific species does not have that effect.

In culture

In Australia the species is sufficiently common to have been featured on a postage stamp issued by Australia Post in 1981.

References

Much of the above article was translated from the French page and Dutch pages.

References

Dahlberg, A.. (2019). "''Coprinus comatus''".
"''Coprinus comatus'' (O.F. Müll.) Pers. 1797". [[MycoBank]]. International Mycological Association.
Fungal Red List: [https://redlist.info/iucn/species_view/148667 ''Coprinus comatus'' (O.F. Müll.) Pers.]
Nilson S & Persson O. (1977). "Fungi of Northern Europe 1: Larger Fungi (Excluding Gill-Fungi)". Penguin.
(February 2001). "''Coprinus'' Pers. and the disposition of ''Coprinus'' species ''sensu lato''". Taxon.
(2012). "Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America". [[University of California Press]].
Sheldrake, Merlin. (2020). "Entangled life: how fungi make our worlds, change our minds & shape our futures". Random House.
(2009). "Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest". Timber Press.
Phillips, Roger. (2006). "Mushrooms". Pan MacMillan.
Beug, Michael W. [http://www.cmsweb.org/articles/poisonings_in_NA.htm An Overview of Mushroom Poisonings in North America.] {{webarchive. link. (2010-05-20 ''The Mycophile'', vol. 45(2):4-5, March/April 2004)
[[Audubon]]. (2023). "Mushrooms of North America". [[Knopf]].
(Nov–Dec 2004). "''Coprinus comatus'': A basidiomycete fungus forms novel spiny structures and infects nematode". Mycologia.
Arora, David. (1986). "Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi". [[Ten Speed Press]].
Meuninck, Jim. (2017). "Foraging Mushrooms Oregon: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Mushrooms". [[Falcon Guides]].
(2006). "North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi". [[FalconGuide]].
Sisson, Liv. (2023). "Fungi of Aotearoa: a curious forager's field guide". Penguin Random House New Zealand.
(2020). "The two faces of Coprinus comatus—Functional properties and potential hazards". Phytotherapy Research.
[http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0013760.jpg AustralianStamp.com Coprinus comatus image]

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