Photo Details
1. Fresh specimen,
2. Cap turned inky with age and melting into an ink-like liquid,
3. Gills turned inky with age. May 24, 2005 - Draper, Salt Lake
County, Utah - ©Nicky Davis
Characteristics
The caps and
gills of the fungi in this family (many known
as inky caps) blacken and melt into an inklike liquid. This
spore-containing liquid drips to the ground renewing itself.
The Shaggy Mane is 3/4 to 2 1/2 inches wide with a 3-8 inch stem. The
cap is columnar, white with brown top and scales with flaring
edges. The stem is white with a collar and a bulbous base. Gills
are free from the stem. The spores are black. This mushroom grows
in lawns, pastures and roadsides. Shaggy manes can be eaten only
if fresh and are said to be very tasty. They cannot be
eaten after they have started to melt as they may become toxic.
Mushrooms absorb pollution easily from the air so eating this mushroom
if found by the roadside can be dangerous.
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