EDIBLE MUSHROOMS. 55 



INKY MUSHROOM. 



Coprinus atramentarius. 



(Plate VI. Fig. 1.) 



Of all edible species this is probably the 

 one to which a novice would take exception, 

 as being so utterly a " toadstool 5: in ap- 

 pearance as to banish all desire to test its 

 qualities. In this instance, as in some 

 others, a foregone conclusion would prove 

 to be wrong, for, notwithstanding its weird 

 and uncanny look, it is but little, if at all, 

 inferior to the Shaggy Caps, to which it 

 is closely related. The group to which it 

 belongs has the peculiarity that when the 

 spores are quite mature the gills dissolve 

 and fall away like drops of ink. Clusters 

 of this fungus, densely packed together, 

 spring from buried wood, or the bottom of 

 old posts. The cap is bell-shaped, of a 

 smooth shining grey, almost mouse-colour, 

 perched on the top of a long white stem. 

 Sometimes the cap is as large as an inverted 



