Community find

Hare's Foot Inkcap

Coprinopsis lagopus

Group

gilled mushroom

Spore print

Black

Size

Cap 1-4 cm wide when expanded; stipe 5-10 cm tall and 2-5 mm thick.

Season

Typically appears from summer to autumn, often following rain.

Habitat

Found growing on wood chips, mulch, rich garden soil, or composted manure.

Distribution

Widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe and North America.

Key characteristics

Grey, conical to bell-shaped cap covered in white, woolly fibrils; slender, fragile white stem; gills start white, turn black, and eventually deliquesce (liquefy).

Fruiting body

Cap is initially cylindrical-ellipsoid, becoming bell-shaped and then flattening; surface covered in silver-grey hairs (veil remnants). Hymenophore consists of crowded free gills. Stipe is white, hollow, and very fragile with a slightly hairy surface.

How to recognise it

Look for the distinctive 'shaggy' or 'woolly' white veil on the grey cap and the tendency for the gills to turn to black ink quickly. They are extremely short-lived, often dissolving within hours of fully expanding.

Look-alikes

Coprinopsis radiata (smaller, grows on dung), Coprinus comatus (much larger and shaggier), Coprinopsis atramentaria (smoother cap).

Ecological role

Saprophytic, breaking down organic matter like wood chips and leaf litter.

Notes

The species name 'lagopus' means 'rabbit foot' in Greek, referring to the woolly texture of the young cap. This mushroom is a common subject in mycological research because it is easy to grow in laboratory settings and its cell division can be synchronized.