The shaggy mane is a tall white mushroom covered in shaggy scales that pops up on lawns and roadsides across North America in summer and fall. As it matures, its turn black and the whole cap melts into inky liquid. It's also called the shaggy ink cap or lawyer's wig.
Appearance
- Appearance
- The cap is 1¼–6 in (3–15 cm) tall, oval to cylindrical at first and later bell-shaped, whitish with a brownish center and large shaggy scales. The white, hollow stem is 2–8 in (5–20 cm) long and has a ring that can slide up and down.
- Seasonal forms
- The crowded gills go from white to pink to black, then dissolve into black ink. This isn't rot—the mushroom digests itself to release its spores.
Look-alikes
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Lawns
- Wood chips
- Roadsides
- Disturbed ground
- Range
- Widespread across North America and much of the world.
- Preferred conditions
- Grows alone, in clusters, in lines, or in fairy rings on lawns, wood chips, and hard-packed or disturbed soil such as dirt road edges. It feeds on decaying organic matter.
- Seasons
In the US
Fruit Jun–Oct
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Leaves a black . As the cap liquefies, its spores are released.
Cautions
- Cautions
- Eaten only when young, before the gills darken, and it must be cooked or chilled within hours of picking because it starts melting fast. Mushrooms from polluted ground can build up mercury and other metals. Don't confuse it with the inky cap, which reacts badly with alcohol.
Name and classification
- About the name
- It's the of the genus Coprinus. Most other black-ink mushrooms once placed in Coprinus have been moved to other genera after DNA studies, and are only distantly related.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
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