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grey squirrel

Ink Cap

Sunday 17th September 2000, 2/2, West Yorkshire

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gills of ink capink cap A SMALL GROUP of Ink Cap fungi grows on the lawn. These aren't the shaggy topped Lawyer's Wig variety but their gills turn from brown to black, turning to black ink around the edges. The stems are hollow.

There are several features about the cap make me think it must be Glistening Ink Cap, Coprinus micaceus;
  • the grooves
  • splits around the margin
  • its ochre colour
  • its ovoid to bell-shape

This species grows on old stumps or buried wood. I know that there were once apple trees in this garden where there is now open lawn.

slugletsAs I draw it a slug the size of half a matchstick crawls out. The ink cap that it is crawling and probably also feeding on, is edible (assuming that I've identified it correctly, that is!).next page

Richard Bell
Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@willowisland.co.uk'

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