Plants Pacific Northwest

Coprinus Comatus - Lawyers wig

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Plate 234 Plate 235

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Coprinus Comatus: Lawyers wig, Shaggy inkcap, Shaggy Mane.

Suddenly appearing in people's lawns (in troops or lines or rings) this mushroom is well known and relatively easily recognized. It is a well known and good edible, but probably not one for beginners, since it can bear a superficial resemblance to several poisonous mushrooms.

Habitat: Singly or in clusters, lines, or fairy rings; on lawns, wood chips, or hard-packed ground; summer and fall; widely distributed.

Cap: 3-15 cm, cylindrical when young, expanding to bell-shaped with a lifting margin; in age turning to black "ink"; dry; whitish with a brownish center; with large, shaggy scales; margin lined at maturity.

Gills: Free from the stem; white, becoming pinkish, then black; turning to black "ink"; very crowded.

Stem: 5-20 cm long; 1-2 cm thick; frequently tapering to apex; smooth; white; easily separable from cap; hollow or lightly stuffed.

Flesh: White throughout; soft.

Spores: 10-17 x 7-9µ; elliptical; smooth; with a pore; black in deposit.

This mushroom is not only edible, but tastes good. Taken as medicine, it can benefit the stomach, treat the lower intestine, treat piles and diabetes, and prevent bacteria in the digestive tract.