Magpie Ink Cap

Magpie Ink Cap, Coprinus picaceus.
Farningham Wood, 2 October 2011.

Back on 2 October I was with the Orpington Field Club at Farningham Wood, looking for fungi. At the far side of the wood, power lines go overhead, and beneath them are piles of wood chippings, clearly the result of trees being felled to keep the lines clear.

Wood chippings are great places to look for fungi, especially if, like these, they are in a shady spot and get plenty of dew. These were still wet at mid-day in the middle of a heat-wave.

This was one of the fungi we found. They are all the same species, but the top specimen is still young, and the lower two photos show a mature one almost ready to drop.

They are very showy and distinctive, and from under their cap emerges a strong chemical smell, reminiscent of mothballs; not camphor, which is sometimes used in mothballs and smells medicinal but not unpleasant, but the other, harsh kind. And not the same, but in the same class of smells. I apologise for this vague description, but there is nothing else in everyday life that compares.

The name "Ink Cap" derives from the black fluid they release when ripe. The colour comes from their spores.

Magpie Ink Cap, Coprinus picaceus.  Farningham Wood, 2 October 2011.

Magpie Ink Cap, Coprinus picaceus.  Farningham Wood, 2 October 2011.