Shaggy ink cap

It is known as edible while young, with a closed cap and pure white gills. It starts to dissolve within hours of picking, so it must be cooked the same day. Never eat it without an expert's identification.

To release its spores the mushroom digests its own cap from the edge inward (autolysis), turning it into a black, ink-like liquid. The liquid was once actually used as ink.

Coprine, the compound that reacts with alcohol, is found mainly in the common ink cap (Coprinopsis atramentaria). Since the two can be confused, it is safest to avoid alcohol with the meal and for the following days.

In lawns, parks, roadsides and field edges almost everywhere. GBIF records cluster in İstanbul and Ankara, with records from more than 30 provinces.

In spring (April–May) and autumn (October–December), in the days after rain.

When young and white it can be. The destroying angel grows in woodland, has a sack-like volva and gills that never darken; the shaggy ink cap's gills turn pink then black and it has no volva.

Söbelen is the local name used around Bolu for the shaggy ink cap (Coprinus comatus), which appears in meadows from late spring to autumn (Karancı and Çetin, 2025). Only young, closed, white-gilled caps are eaten, and it must not be confused with the common ink cap, which is toxic with alcohol. Never eat it without an expert's identification.

Yes. Shaggy mane, shaggy ink cap and lawyer's wig are all names for Coprinus comatus. 'Shaggy mane' is the usual name in North America, 'shaggy ink cap' in Britain.

We pick only young, closed caps with white gills and cook them the same day, because they start to turn into black ink within hours. Sliced and sautéed in butter they are soft and mild; caps whose gills have turned pink or black are left out.

Coprinus comatus was first described as Agaricus comatus, and it has also been published under names such as Coprinus ovatus; these older names are now treated as synonyms. In English it is called shaggy ink cap, shaggy mane or lawyer's wig.

Inky cap is a general name for several mushrooms whose gills dissolve into black ink. The shaggy ink cap (Coprinus comatus) is one of them; the common ink cap (Coprinopsis atramentaria) is another, and it is the one that reacts badly with alcohol.

No. Only the shaggy ink cap is widely eaten, and only while young and white, before the gills start to turn black. The common ink cap reacts with alcohol, and the magpie inkcap is not eaten. We identify the species first and do not treat 'ink cap' as one mushroom.

The young cap is tall, white and covered in shaggy scales that curl up like a barrister's powdered wig, so in Britain it is also called lawyer's wig.

Ink caps do. As the shaggy ink cap and the common ink cap mature, their gills dissolve from the edge into a black, inky liquid that drips from the cap and carries the spores. This liquid was once used as ink. We eat shaggy ink caps only while the gills are still white.

Yes, the shaggy ink cap is an edible species. Eat a wild one only after an expert has identified it with certainty: it can be confused with common ink cap (Coprinopsis atramentaria) and destroying angel (Amanita virosa). Pick only young mushrooms with closed caps and completely white gills, and cook them the same day; throw away any that are pink or blackening. Because of the risk of confusion with the common ink cap, it is safest never to combine it with alcohol. Do not pick it beside busy roads.

In our calendar, shaggy ink cap season runs Apr–May, Sep–Dec. The shaggy ink cap fruits in spring and autumn after rain; Turkish GBIF records show two peaks, April–May and October–December.

The shaggy ink cap grows in groups in open, nitrogen-rich places such as lawns, field edges, roadsides and disturbed soil; it is not tied to trees.

The shaggy ink cap is widespread in Turkey: GBIF records cluster in İstanbul and Ankara, and it has been recorded in more than 30 provinces, from İzmir, Kırklareli, Bolu and Antalya to Iğdır and Tunceli.

The shaggy ink cap can be confused with common ink cap (Coprinopsis atramentaria, poisonous), destroying angel (Amanita virosa, deadly), parasol (Macrolepiota procera, edible species), magpie inkcap (Coprinopsis picacea, inedible) and glistening inkcap (Coprinellus micaceus, inedible). Look-alikes are compared on this page.

In Turkish, the shaggy ink cap (Coprinus comatus) is called Mürekkep mantarı; other local names include tüylü mürekkep mantarı, avukat peruğu, çayır mürekkep mantarı and söbelen.