Shaggy Ink Cap or Shaggy Mane fungus Cap Credit Martin Hill
This common fungus (Coprinus comatus) is the shaggy mane or shaggy ink cap, sometimes called the ‘lawyer’s wig’. The cylindrical mushroom has soft, delicate scales and fragrant nutty smell. It is sometimes confused with the poisonous common ink cap, which has a smoother surface and darker cap and can cause severe illness if consumed with alcohol.
The shaggy manes tend to grow both singly and in groups in grassy areas, on lawns, in meadows and in open woodland. They sometimes form long winding lines or grow in fairy rings and are commonly seen between May and November.
The shaggy mane life cycle begins when a spore germinates into a network of mycelium in the soil. These form a white cylindrical fruit which comes up through the ground. The cap soon opens to reveal white gills, which soon turn pink and then black as the mushroom begins to dissolve into an inky black liquid, releasing spores to begin the cycle again. The whole process from their emergence from the soil to dissolving into the liquid can be as short as 24 hours. The photo here, which was taken on Humber Lane, shows the shaggy mane in the process of liquification. It would shortly be reduced to little more than a stem with a small inky cap on the top.
In folklore the shaggy ink cap has been seen to symbolise the fleeting, ephemeral nature of existence and also the themes of transformation and renewal.