How to identify Scaly Inky Cap

To correctly identify Scaly Inky Cap (Coprinopsis variegata), check each of these features in order. Misidentification is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning, so cross-reference multiple sources.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Cap

   Shape, color, surface texture, and diameter.

   Conic to oval when young, expanding to campanulate (bell-shaped) or convex with age, but rarely fully flattening. The cap measures 3-10 cm in diameter. The surface is grayish-brown to tan, densely covered with conspicuous, shaggy to woolly, white to brownish scales or patches, especially when young. These scales are remnants of the universal veil. The margin is often striate and may split with age. Deliquescence occurs from the margin inwards.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Free, crowded. Initially white or pale cream, then turning pinkish-gray, subsequently blackening, and ultimately deliquescing into a black, inky liquid from the margin upwards.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   Typically 6-15 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm thick, central, hollow, and fragile. It is whitish to pale brownish, sometimes slightly fibrillose, and typically lacks scales. A small, often inconspicuous ring or ring zone, sometimes breaking off, may be present from the partial veil.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   Thin, fragile, and whitish to pale grayish. It darkens and deliquesces rapidly with maturity.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   The fruiting body undergoes a process of deliquescence, where the gills and cap dissolve into a black, inky liquid as spores mature.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, growing on decaying hardwood logs, stumps, buried wood, or wood chips. Often found in clusters or singly in deciduous or mixed hardwood forests, parks, and disturbed areas.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Grayish-brown to tan, covered with shaggy to woolly white to brownish scales.

Growth Form

Usually scattered or gregarious (in clusters) on decaying wood.

Spore Print

Black.

Body color

Overall grayish-brown with white scales on the cap when young; turning black with age due to deliquescence.

Odor

Indistinct.

Flesh bruises

Not notably bruising; it darkens and deliquesces with maturity.

Height

6-15 cm

Cap Diameter

3-10 cm

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Free
• Stem shape: Cylindrical, sometimes tapering slightly towards the apex or base.
• Stem surface: Whitish to pale brownish, sometimes finely fibrillose, lacking significant scales, often with a faint, ephemeral ring or ring zone.
• Ring: Present but often inconspicuous, thin, fragile, and readily disappearing or leaving a faint zone on the upper stem.
• Stem cross-section: Hollow

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