Community find

Mica Cap

Coprinellus micaceus

Group

gilled mushroom

Spore print

Black or very dark brown.

Size

Cap 2-5 cm diameter; Stipe 4-10 cm long, 2-5 mm thick.

Season

Spring through autumn, often appearing shortly after rain.

Habitat

Grows in dense clusters on or near decaying wood, hardwood stumps, or buried roots. Common in urban environments, lawns, and woodlands.

Distribution

Cosmopolitan; widely distributed throughout North America, Europe, and many other continents.

Key characteristics

Bell-shaped to convex cap, yellowish-brown to tan, often covered in tiny glistening mica-like granules when young. Gills turn from white to brown then black and eventually liquefy (deliquesce) into an inky substance. Striate (grooved) cap margins.

Fruiting body

Cap initially oval or glandiform, expanding to bell-shaped, 2-5 cm wide, ochre-brown to tawny, featuring radial striations. Hymenophore consists of crowded gills. Stipe is 4-10 cm long, 2-5 mm thick, white, hollow, and fragile.

How to recognise it

Look for the glistening salt-like granules on the cap surface (though these may wash off in rain). Check for the tendency of the gills to turn to black ink and the clustering growth habit around wood.

Look-alikes

Coprinellus truncorum (smooth cap and lacks glistening granules), Coprinellus flocculosus (larger and more fragile with different veil remnants).

Ecological role

Saprophytic, breaking down dead hardwood/woody debris.

Notes

The glistening particles on the cap are actually remnants of a universal veil made of cells called sphaerocysts. The process of the gills turning to ink is known as deliquescence, which helps in the dispersal of spores by allowing them to be carried away by wind or water as the cap structure dissolves.