Shaggy Inkcap DSC_7508
Shaggy Inkcap / coprinus comatus. Norfolk. 29/09/17.
A mature fruiting body photographed after a heavy rain shower.
BEST VIEWED LARGE.
The cap of this 'half-Shaggy' Inkcap would have looked a whole lot shaggier if it had been dry! Already the liquefying process - where the fungi starts to ingest itself - had begun at the cap margin. Before long it would have been dripping a black, spore-laden 'ink' onto the grass stems below.
The specimen shown had retained its beautiful stem ring. This would once have formed the bond between cap and stem. When the cap had fully emerged and expanded, it tore away from the stem leaving the conspicuous feature.
Degeneration and shrinkage of a fruiting body can make stem rings unstable and slip downwards, so I was pleased to see this one looking so secure.
Shaggy Inkcap DSC_7508
Shaggy Inkcap / coprinus comatus. Norfolk. 29/09/17.
A mature fruiting body photographed after a heavy rain shower.
BEST VIEWED LARGE.
The cap of this 'half-Shaggy' Inkcap would have looked a whole lot shaggier if it had been dry! Already the liquefying process - where the fungi starts to ingest itself - had begun at the cap margin. Before long it would have been dripping a black, spore-laden 'ink' onto the grass stems below.
The specimen shown had retained its beautiful stem ring. This would once have formed the bond between cap and stem. When the cap had fully emerged and expanded, it tore away from the stem leaving the conspicuous feature.
Degeneration and shrinkage of a fruiting body can make stem rings unstable and slip downwards, so I was pleased to see this one looking so secure.